Liberty In Peril

formerly,

The Llano Ledger

No end to aggressive stupidity
in the Trump regime. ... Or, bottomless corporate greed. The
Washington Post reports:

"A hearing on the threat
seismic testing poses to North Atlantic right whales was plodding along
Thursday when, seemingly out of nowhere, Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) pulled
out an air horn and politely asked if he could blast it."

LOL. Go for it.

"Before that moment at
a Natural Resources subcommittee hearing, Cunningham had listened to a
Trump administration official testify, over and over, that firing commercial
air guns under water every 10 seconds in search of oil and gas deposits
over a period of months would have next to no effect on the endangered
animals, which use echolocation to communicate, feed, mate and keep track
of their babies. It’s why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
gave five companies permission to conduct tests that could harm the whales
last year, said the official, Chris Oliver, an assistant administrator
for fisheries."

Nothing quite like aggressive
stupidity, is there? To say nothing of bottomless corporate greed.
As life, we are all ultimately interdependent on one another (fellow species)
for survival. Ever take a biology class?

"As committee members
engaged in a predictable debate along typical party lines — Republicans
in support of testing and President Trump’s energy agenda, Democrats against
it — Cunningham reached for the air horn, put his finger on the button
and turned to Oliver. “It’s fair to say seismic air gun blasting is extremely
loud and disruptive ... is that correct?” the congressman asked. “I don’t
know exactly how loud it is. I actually never experienced it myself,” Oliver
replied."

Then, how the f--k do
you know whether or not its damaging the whales? You're too goddamned
stupid, hopelessly ignorant to be an assistant administrator for fisheries.
... Or, worse, you're bought and paid for. A turd of the not-so-highest
order.

Gets more instructive:

"So Cunningham gave Oliver
a taste of the 120-decibel horn. An earsplitting sound filled the small
committee room. An audience of about 50 gasped and murmured. “Was
that disruptive?” Cunningham asked."

LOL.

“It was irritating, but
I didn’t find it too disruptive,” Oliver said."

Jesus Christ. Proof
positive 'can fix ignorant, can't fix stupid.'

"It seemed disruptive
to at least one person in the room. Subcommittee Chairman Jared Huffman
(D-Calif.) broke into the debate to say an aide, who is pregnant, informed
him that when the air horn sounded, her baby kicked."

Can't confuse a jackass
with the truth.

"Cunningham, who represents
Charleston and other coastal cities, pressed on. What if it happened every
10 seconds for days, weeks and months, he said. He asked Oliver to guess
how much louder commercial air guns are than his store-bought air horn.
When Oliver didn’t bite, he told him the sound from air guns is 16,000
times that of his air horn."

Further proof positive
Republicans couldn't care less about the environment. Only corporate
profits.

"Five companies are awaiting
final permits from the Interior Department to begin testing between New
Jersey and Florida. An estimated 400 North Atlantic right whales, hunted
to the brink of extinction, survive. A birth among the 100 mating pairs
is so rare that seven calves spotted recently were celebrated as a tiny
glimmer of hope."

Doesn't matter to most
Republicans, -- or their corporate masters.

"Every governor from Massachusetts
to Florida, Republicans and Democrats, stands in opposition to the Trump
administration’s proposal to offer federal offshore leases along the Atlantic
coast, where beach tourism thrives. The governors are backed by state attorneys
general and legislators."

How about that?
Proof positive, as well, not all Republicans are jackasses, -- or
aggressively stupid. Comforted? LOL.

"Although Cunningham’s
stunt was the highlight of an ordinary hearing, Democrats could not shake
the administration’s argument that there is no evidence showing that seismic
testing has ever killed or significantly hurt a right whale in the Gulf
of Mexico or Pacific Ocean, where testing has happened recently."

Proof positive, as well,
Republicans can't, won't be confused by the truth when that truth interferes
with corporate profits. ... Got it? LOL.

"Oliver said right whales
are more commonly killed by boat strikes and getting entangled in fishing
nets, and that NOAA Fisheries is focused on stopping that. He emphasized
that studies have shown some adverse impacts from seismic testing but that
those “are sublethal.”

How does he know?
His corporate masters instruct him so?

Wake up.
Here's the truth:

"But that testimony was
followed by testimony from whale experts who described what sublethal means.
Scott Kraus, a vice president and senior science adviser for the New England
Aquarium, said the tests will stress out an animal that’s already struggling
from lack of disease resistance. “Many right whales now have poor body
scores that are just above the threshold of reproductive success, suggesting
that any additional stressors ... will push them below any ability to reproduce,"
Kraus said. Christopher Clark, a senior scientist and research professor
at Cornell University, said there is nowhere for animals to hide from seismic
noise. It travels efficiently underwater, radiating for thousands of miles
from where it starts. The bowhead whale, a close relative of right whales,
reacts to extremely low levels of seismic noise from far away. “It continues
reacting until it totally stops communicating,” Clark said. “For right
whales, such changes will increase the likelihood of mother-calf separations.”
It’s not physical harm to a single individual, he said, but “this is the
cost to a marginally surviving population as a result of chronic noise
from seismic air gun surveys.”

"Sen. Elizabeth Warren
of Massachusetts on Friday called for the government to break up Facebook,
Google and Amazon, offering a plan to re-categorize the companies and reverse
some major tech acquisitions. Warren, who is running for the Democratic
presidential nomination in 2020, has been a part of a growing faction within
the party that has called for greater regulation and antitrust enforcement
of major tech companies."

She's right about that.
Major tech companies remain out of control. Present an exigent threat
to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

"Twenty-five years ago,
Facebook, Google, and Amazon didn’t exist. Now they are among the most
valuable and well-known companies in the world," Warren wrote in a post
on the blogging platform Medium. "It’s a great story—but also one that
highlights why the government must break up monopolies and promote competitive
markets."

Indeed. No question.
Not going to happen, however, with a Senate and Oval Office owned by Republican
national socialists, fascists, bona fide nazis hell bent on forcing their
perverse ideological and religious views on all.

"Warren's call also comes
as Democrats have begun to plan for increased oversight of tech companies
after taking control of the House. On Wednesday, House and Senate Democrats
introduced legislation to establish strong net neutrality protections that
would look to prevent major service providers from using their power to
manipulate how users experience the internet."

Good luck. Too little,
much too late.

"Few Democrats, however,
have actively called to break up tech companies, as Warren did on Friday."

Too gutless. Too
afraid of Republican national socialists who remain intent on lining the
pockets of their corporate masters.

"Warren said in her post
that the consumer experience of most internet users is dominated by Facebook,
Google and Amazon, which can then "use the Internet to squash small businesses
and innovation, and substitute their own financial interests for the broader
interests of the American people."

Indeed, she's right about
that. Precisely, why this writer does not do Facebook, Google and
others. -- Have bought on Amazon but through a friend who is not
concerned with privacy.

"Warren's plan calls for
legislation that would feature a new business category for companies with
more than $25 billion of global revenue that also "offer to the public
an online marketplace, an exchange, or a platform for connecting third
parties." These companies would be called "platform utilities" and be prevented
from owning the platform and any of its participants, as well as be required
to "meet a standard of fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory dealing
with users." They would also not be allowed to share data with other companies."

Can't have that, can we?
Forget? Corporate management suite has sold us out. How they
line their pockets.

"Warren pointed to Amazon's
operation of its marketplace and its sale of Amazon "Basics" as an example
of a violation of the proposed legislation. She also said that Google's
various businesses would need to be separated, including its ad exchange
and its search engine. Warren also said that she would be looking to federal
regulators to undo some recent mergers, including Amazon's ownership of
the grocer Whole Foods and e-commerce website Zappos, Facebook's ownership
of WhatsApp and Instagram, and Google's ownership of the navigation app
Waze and home device company Nest. "Unwinding these mergers will promote
healthy competition in the market — which will put pressure on big tech
companies to be more responsive to user concerns, including about privacy,"
she wrote."

Good luck. Think
they won't fight back with everything they've got?

"Facebook declined to
comment on Warren's plan. Amazon and Google did not immediately respond
to requests for comment."

What the f--k could
they say?

"Luther Lowe, senior vice
president of government relations at Yelp, which has repeatedly claimed
that Google uses its search engine to scuttle competitors, said Warren's
plan was "refreshing and ambitious." "I think Senator Warren really understands
how these markets work, and I think this type of proposal would inject
some much needed oxygen into the consumer internet markets, which today
are calcifying as a result of dominant firms like Google stifling innovation,"
Lowe said."

No question. Certainly,
true. Google has grown old and stale.

"Warren is not entirely
alone in proposing serious changes to how tech companies are regulated.
Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who heads the House antitrust subcommittee,
recently suggested in an interview with the Financial Times a similar idea
in which tech companies would be forced to split up their platform from
their customer data business."

All talk. No action.
Not easy to do, regardless. These firms have nearly unlimited resources.
Can easily fight back. We, the people, have allowed this. Only
ourselves to blame.

"Dipayan Ghosh, a fellow
at Harvard University's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public
Policy, said that while Warren's proposal is in the "right direction,"
Cicilline's plan targets the heart of the power of big tech companies to
use consumer data in conjunction with their platforms to control their
markets. "The reason I like Cicilline's argument is that one really does
get to the meat of the way that these companies have been constructed,"
he said."

Need to have a multi-pronged
approach. Makes far greater sense. If one approach slacks off,
another could take up the slack.

"Ghosh, who previously
worked at Facebook as a privacy and public policy adviser, said big tech
companies have already been preparing for regulation efforts. He pointed
to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement on Wednesday that the company
would be moving to make it so users can communicate across its various
apps. Ghosh said these kinds of efforts will make it hard to break up tech
companies. He predicted that this is the start of a cat-and-mouse game
between tech companies and regulators that will go on for years. "I think
what these companies are trying to do. especially Facebook, is figure out
ways to really unsettle the competition policy arguments that are taking
shape by doing strategic things with their companies," Ghosh said."

Have only ourselves to
blame. Allowed this to happen. Will take gifted lawmakers to
come up with creative legislative solutions to solve this problem.
If not, hear the rumble? An unwanted dreaded second American
revolution catastrophically looming, as our bought and paid for lawmakers
'fiddle while Rome burns.'

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

No justice. Not
in a fascist police-state, -- masquerading as a democratic republic. The
Washington Post reports:

"The sentencing of Paul
Manafort, former chairman of President Trump’s campaign, was highly anticipated,
capping a significant chapter in Robert S. Mueller III’s special counsel
investigation. But it was an unlikely candidate to become the latest example
of a conflict that has vexed legal professionals and activists for decades:
systemic inequality in the criminal justice system. Yet, as a federal judge
handed down his sentence in jam-packed Alexandria, Va., courtroom Thursday,
and observers digested the judge’s decision — 47 months — Manafort’s case
was immediately perceived as a high-profile instance of the justice system
working one way for a wealthy, well-connected man, while working in another,
harsher, way for indigent defendants facing lesser crimes."

... Hear the rumble?
An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.

“Paul Manafort’s lenient
4-year sentence — far below the recommended 20 years despite extensive
felonies and post-conviction obstruction — is a reminder of the blatant
inequities in our justice system that we all know about, because they reoccur
every week in courts across America,” said Ari Melber, a legal analyst
for NBC News, in a Thursday-night tweet."

This continues?
Revolution will become all but inevitable. There is no justice.
How revolutions spawn.

"Under federal sentencing
guidelines, Manafort faced up to 24 years in prison for bank fraud and
for cheating on his taxes, yet U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis said
that calculation was “excessive.” Manafort’s crime’s were “very serious,”
Ellis said, but they didn’t warrant a punishment that could keep the 69-year-old
imprisoned into his 90s."

Horse shit. Had
he been 69 and robbed a bank, delusionally believe he would not have spent
the rest of his life in prison? Two systems of justice. One
for the top of the food chain, the other for the rest of us. Again,
how revolutions spawn.

"Duncan Levin, a former
federal prosecutor and expert in financial crimes, said Manafort’s sentence
was very light “by any stretch of the imagination.” Manafort, who once
agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors but then was found to have
lied to them, got a sentence that resembled someone’s who did not renege
on their cooperation agreement, Levin said. “His crimes went on for an
extremely long time, at the very highest levels of our government and deeply
affected our democracy,” Levin told The Washington Post. “To get away with
it for such a short sentence is something that is absolutely mind-boggling.”

It's how business is conducted
in a fascist police-state. Two systems of justice. The judge
clearly sympathized with the thieving bastard in front of him. Saw
himself in Manafort. ... There but for the grace of God go I.
Wake up. No equal justice.

"However, he said, federal
judges are not required to adhere to sentencing guidelines, which serve
only as recommendations to judges. Ultimately, they are free to depart
from the guidelines and come up with any number they see as appropriate.
"It seems pretty light to me, and to a lot of people,” Levin said. “But
that is squarely in the purview of the judge to do.”

The 'judge' must have
seen himself in Manafort. LOL.

"The sentencing inspired
a flood of lawyers to dig through news clips and their own recent cases.
What they found was dozens of examples of defendants who, in their view,
were nowhere near as fortunate as Manafort."

Precisely, how revolutions
spawn:

"Scott Hechinger, a senior
staff attorney at Brooklyn Defender Services, an organization that provides
legal representation to defendants who cannot afford it, used one of his
recent clients, who was just offered a 36-to-72-month sentence, as an example.
The crime? Stealing $100 worth of quarters from a residential laundry room.
Hechinger’s client may wind up doing more time than Manafort, a man who
defrauded the Internal Revenue Service out of $6 million."

Nazi justice. No
justice at all. We've lost our country. Have only ourselves
to blame. Should have been resolved by Baby Boomers fifty years ago.
Instead, most of us gutlessly caved in.

That does not, however,
justify or excuse stealing a hundred bucks worth of quarters. Has
to be a price paid for the crime, but needs to be proportional. The
Manafort nazi effectively got a free ride. No problem with that?

"Hechinger listed a half
dozen more examples. Among them were a Brooklyn teenager who got a 19-years-to-life
sentence for burning a mattress in the hallway of his apartment building,
resulting in the smoke-inhalation death of an officer who responded to
the scene. He also cited the case of Crystal Mason, an ex-felon who was
sent back to prison for five years after voting in the 2016 presidential
election while on probation — an act she says she didn’t know was illegal."

How about that?
Nazi justice. Without question, unless you're Paul Manafort and at
the top of the food chain, the dream is clearly dead.

That's right. Precisely,
why if this does not change, our formerly great country will not survive.

"Laverone cited the case
of one Turkish banker who was charged with participating in a multibillion-dollar
scheme, violating U.S. economic sanctions. In that case, guidelines called
for a possible 105-year sentence. The banker got 32 months."

How about that?

"Judge Ellis is a Reagan
appointee, known as tough and no-nonsense. But, in recent years, he has
publicly complained about laws that impose cumbersome sentences, as Politico
illustrated in a 2018 profile. In one striking example from that report,
Ellis sentenced a 37-year-old to a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison
for dealing methamphetamine. “This situation presents me with something
I have no discretion to change and the only thing I can do is express my
displeasure,” the judge said. “I chafe a bit at that, but I follow the
law. If I thought it was blatantly immoral, I’d have to resign. It’s wrong,
but not immoral.”

"In that man’s case, the
crime’s mandatory minimum sentence forced Ellis’s hand. But for Manafort,
Levin said, there was no such requirement, no mandatory minimum."

Nazi justice.

Insult to injury?
Get this:

"Because Manafort has
already spent nine months in jail, his sentence could end in fewer than
three years. But he still faces sentencing next week for a conspiracy charged
in D.C. federal court, which could result in up to an additional 10 years."

Needs to spend the rest
of his life in prison.

"In a tweet, Sen. Amy
Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a former prosecutor and presidential candidate, also
denounced what she characterized as a lenient sentence. “Crimes committed
in an office building should be treated as seriously as crimes committed
on a street corner,” she said. “Can’t have two systems of justice!”

Exactly, what we have.
De facto fascist police-state since 9/11.

NBC News reports:

"Paul Manafort getting
such little jail time for such serious crimes lays out for the world how
it’s almost impossible for rich people to go to jail for the same amount
of time as someone who is lower income.

"Both the Judge and the
lawyer in the Paul Manafort case stated loudly and for the world to hear
that there was NO COLLUSION with Russia. But the Witch Hunt Hoax continues
as you now add these statements to House & Senate Intelligence &
Senator Burr. So bad for our Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
March 8, 2019

"But that's not what the
judge overseeing the case said. Before announcing Manafort's sentence Thursday,
Judge T.S. Ellis reminded the court that the longtime political operative's
crimes were not related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s chief mandate
— Russian election interference and whether Trump campaign officials colluded
with the Kremlin."

NPR reports:

"Former Trump campaign
chairman Paul Manafort received a total sentence of about 7 1/2 years in
federal prison on Wednesday following the guilty plea in his Washington,
D.C., conspiracy case. Judge Amy Berman Jackson effectively added about
3 1/2 years in prison to the sentence Manafort received last week from
a different judge in the Eastern District of Virginia. Jackson said Manafort
could serve some of the prison sentence at the same time he was serving
in prison for his other case. But the judge in Washington ultimately increased
the total amount of prison time. A federal judge in Virginia had sentenced
Manafort to just under four years in federal prison and ordered that he
pay $24.8 million in restitution and a $50,000 fine. Separately on Wednesday,
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced that a grand jury in
New York City had returned an indictment of its own against Manafort. Vance's
statement described "a yearlong residential mortgage fraud scheme through
which Manafort and others falsified business records to illegally obtain
millions of dollars."

No justice. Nowhere
near. Special treatment for the top of the food chain.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

Chelsea Manning stands
on principle. NBC News reports:

"Army whistleblower Chelsea
Manning was jailed on Friday after refusing to answer questions from a
federal grand jury in Virginia looking into the release of documents to
WikiLeaks. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton told Manning that she would
remain in federal custody “until she purges or the end of the life of the
grand jury” a statement from her representatives said. Earlier in the day,
Manning told reporters that she was prepared to go to jail following the
closed contempt hearing for her resistance to provide testimony because
she doesn't believe in the grand jury process. On Wednesday, Manning appeared
before the same grand jury, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, but refused to answer any questions. "I responded
to each question with the following statement: ‘I object to the question
and refuse to answer on the grounds that the question is in violation of
my First, Fourth, and Sixth Amendment, and other statutory rights," Manning
said in a statement. "All of the substantive questions pertained to my
disclosures of information to the public in 2010 — answers I provided in
extensive testimony, during my court-martial in 2013," the statement said.

"Manning's support committee,
Chelsea Resists!, called the grand jury system "dangerous and undemocratic."
"Grand juries operate in secret, allowing the government to retaliate against
activists and dissidents behind closed doors," said a statement from the
committee released by Manning's lawyers. “Donald Trump and his administration
have publicly declared their disdain for Chelsea, and for President Obama’s
decision to commute her sentence," the Chelsea Resists! statement said.
"Chelsea has stood by the testimony from her 2013 court-martial, and this
subpoena serves no legitimate purpose. It is a punitive effort to reverse
Obama’s legacy, exposing Chelsea to legal hardship and possible imprisonment."

Got to give her credit
for standing on principle. Be interesting to see how long she resists.
Liberty is far, far more than having the 'right' to do what you're told.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

"Anti-Semitism, racism,
white supremacy, and hateful speech have no place in the House of Representatives."

Since when? Wake
up, Congressman. No more than disingenuous bullshit.

"When a Member of Congress
violates these principles, appropriate action must be taken. As recently
as January, that included a resolution unequivocally condemning the Member
of Congress and his comments and removal from all committees."

Forget? He was tolerated
quite some time. Not equivalent to the Congresswoman you now criticize
for totally different reasons.

"Now, we have a Member
of Congress who continually chooses to use anti-Semitic rhetoric, and House
Democrat leadership refuses to directly acknowledge the problem. Instead
of strict condemnation, they have hemmed and hawed over the intent of the
statements made. Democrats have handed out allowances for inexperience
and youth, adding insult to injury for millions of Jewish Americans. Worse
yet, Nancy Pelosi has allowed this Member of Congress to remain on the
House Foreign Affairs Committee."

More disingenuous horse
shit. Don't you Republican national socialists, fascists, bona fide
nazis understand the difference between criticism of the Israeli national
socialist, fascists currently running the Israeli government and anti-Semitism?
They're
not one and the same. You don't know that? Too hopelessly
ignorant to understand?

"This week's watered-down
resolution included the Democrats' kitchen sink, but did not lend support
to Christians, Mormons, and many other groups that face regular discrimination
in this country and abroad."

Disingenuous bullshit.
... Can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, Mike, baffle 'em with bullshit?
Give me a break. The Israeli aggressor has been out of control for
decades. What is happening to the Palestinians since 1948 is
unconscionable. Who the hell were the United States, the United Nations,
and Europe to bequeath Palestine to survivors of the Holocaust at that
time? Without first consulting the Palestinians.

Forget? The Israelites
had lost that land generations ago due to their excesses. The Israeli
aggressor has been emulating its German Nazi oppressors circa 1933 at the
very beginning of the Third Reich. Too clueless to understand?
That ignorant of history? Ignorance of history is precisely why that
region has suffered war after war since 1948. Why it clearly became
the hotbed of modern terrorism. You Republican nazis too stupid,
too ill-informed to understand this?

"House Democrats must
take bigotry of all kinds seriously, not just instances that fit their
progressive liberal agenda."

'Kettle calling the pot
black,' Congressman. You Republican national socialists, fascists
are no better than the Democrats. Just at the opposite political
extreme. Both parties present an exigent threat to life, liberty,
all civil and constitutional rights and liberties. For totally different
reasons.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

Judiciary again sticks
it to the Trump nazi. The Washington Post reports:

"In a legal blow to the
Trump administration, a federal judge ruled Friday that all migrant families
separated during the government’s border crackdown should be included in
a class-action lawsuit. But he stopped short of immediately ordering the
Justice Department to track them all down."

Why not? Had it
been his kid a different story? No equal justice?

"U.S. District Judge Dana
Sabraw in California said the universe of separated families should extend
beyond the 2,700-plus children taken from their parents last spring, and
include families forced apart as early as July 1, 2017, and the months
afterward, when the Trump administration was denying that it had a policy
of separating families."

Trump and his henchmen
are congenital liars. So what else is new?

"Sabraw said a government
watchdog report in January that potentially thousands more families were
separated than the Trump administration had admitted publicly compelled
the court to look into the matter."

No kidding. Function
of judiciary to serve as check and balance against the executive.
To date, did a piss poor job of doing so.

“The hallmark of a civilized
society is measured by how it treats its people and those within its borders,”
he wrote in a 14-page ruling. “That Defendants may have to change course
and undertake additional effort to address these issues does not render
modification of the class definition unfair; it only serves to underscore
the unquestionable importance of the effort and why it is necessary (and
worthwhile).”

Need to do far more, Judge.

"The ruling dramatically
expands the scope of the class-action lawsuit that compelled the Trump
administration to reunite the separated families and prolongs a political
tangle for the president that had been nearing its end."

Better than nothing, but
nowhere near good enough.

"Sabraw said he would
hear arguments later this month to decide whether to require the Trump
administration to locate the rest of the families. But he said “the Court
has an obligation to resolve that question,” especially for parents who
may have been deported without their children, and although it “may be
burdensome, it clearly can be done.”

Too much talk, not enough
action, Judge.

"Otherwise, he wrote,
parents may have been deported without their children, creating the “very
real possibility of a permanently orphaned child” because of the “questionable”
actions of government officials."

You think?
Again, too much talk, Judge. Not enough action.

"The American Civil Liberties
Union, which represents the parents in the lawsuit, cheered the decision
and said it would ask Sabraw to order the Trump administration to provide
the names and contact information of all the separated families, as it
did for the ones split up last spring. “The court powerfully stated that
there’s a lot at stake here and that it was not prepared to let the government
escape responsibility simply because it might be burdensome to track the
families down,” said Lee Gelernt, lead attorney in the family separation
lawsuit and deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project."

Imagine that.

"More than 2,700 migrant
children were separated from their parents from May 5 to June 20 in a controversial
attempt to deter rising numbers of illegal border crossings, particularly
of families, most of whom were released in the United States because of
what the Trump administration called legal “loopholes.”

Trump and his henchmen
need to be held accountable. Not given a free ride.

"Homeland Security Secretary
Kirstjen Nielsen and then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions opted to criminally
prosecute all adults who crossed the border illegally, even if they were
with children. Adults were detained, and their children were shuttled to
shelters across the country. Trump rescinded the crackdown on June 20 amid
widespread protests, including from Republicans, that the separations were
harming children. Days later, Sabraw ordered the administration to put
the families back together, which required combing through handwritten
and electronic files to find children as young as babies and nearly 500
parents who had been deported without them."

How does something like
that happen? Why hasn't Trump been held personally responsible?

"Almost all the families
had been reunited when the inspector general for the Department of Health
and Human Services issued the report in January that surprised Sabraw and
the ACLU. The report estimated that “thousands” of other children may have
been taken from their parents, including from July 1, 2017, to November
2017, during a trial run of the crackdown in west Texas and New Mexico.
Until then, the ACLU had heard of only a few such cases. At a hearing last
month, Justice Department lawyers said most of those children were probably
with a parent or a close relative who had been vetted by the government,
and expressed concern that contacting the families could traumatize the
children. They suggested having parents file individual lawsuits to get
their children back. Sabraw, a Republican appointee in the Southern District
of California, said in his ruling that such a requirement would make it
“virtually impossible” for deported parents to get their children back."

Up to you, Judge, to force
the issue.

"The ACLU has noted that
many parents hail from remote villages in Guatemala and other Central American
nations and would face severe difficulties in finding their children. In
his ruling, Sabraw noted that lawmakers and government inspectors have
been looking into the family separations, but he said that did not diminish
the court’s obligations in the case. “Clearly,” the judge wrote, “the matter
of determining the ‘number and status of separated children’ who have entered
[government] care at any point in time because of the Administration’s
family separation policy is not going away.”

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

Trump has lost his mind.
The
Washington Post reports:

"President Trump is releasing
a $4.7 trillion budget plan Monday that stands as a sharp challenge to
Congress and the Democrats trying to unseat him, the first act in a multi-front
struggle that could consume Washington for the next 18 months. The budget
proposal dramatically raises the possibility of another government shutdown
in October, and Trump used the budget to notify Congress he is seeking
an additional $8.6 billion to build sections of a wall along the U. S.-Mexico
border."

That's insane. Won't
get it. Certainly, not in the House.

"The budget also calls
on increased military spending, another in a string of proposals that prompted
Democrats to label the budget a non-starter that will not win congressional
support. If lawmakers and Trump don’t reach a spending agreement by the
end of September, many government operations will ground to a halt."

So be it. Our formerly
great country spends more on defense than reportedly the next five countries
combined. How much is enough?

"Trump’s “Budget for a
Better America” also includes dozens of spending cuts and policy overhauls
that frame the early stages of the debate for the 2020 election. For example,
Trump for the first time calls for cutting $845 billion from Medicare,
the popular health care program for the elderly that in the past he had
largely said he would protect."

Surprised? Why?
The 'President' has proven to be a congenital liar.

"His budget would also
propose a major overhaul of Medicaid, the health care program for low-income
Americans run jointly with states, by turning more power over to states.
This would save $241 billion over 10 years."

At expense of recipients.
... While the Trump nazi and his henchmen laugh their asses off all the
way to the bank. -- How unwanted dreaded second American revolutions
spawn.

"Other agencies, particularly
the Environmental Protection Agency, State Department, Transportation Department,
and Interior Department, would see their budgets severely reduced."

Translation? The
public takes it hard in the ass without the Vaseline. Forget?
The Republican national socialist, fascist, nazi way. So what
else is new?

“With severe cuts to essential
programs and services that would leave our nation less safe and secure,
the Trump budget is as dangerous as it is predictable. It has no chance
in the House,” House Budget Chairman John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said ahead of
the document’s release."

While the Democrats leave
much to be desired, who the hell else will stand up for the citizenry?
Certainly, not the goddamned Republicans. Forget? Too busy
lining their pockets off their corporate masters. Unbridled greed.

"More broadly, Trump’s
budget would impose mandatory work-requirements for millions of people
who receive welfare assistance while dramatically increasing the defense
budget to $750 billion next year, a 5 percent increase from 2019."

Trump's head remains figuratively,
securely lodged up his ass.

"Trump and other Republicans
have said the federal budget is full of waste and bloat, and that many
federal agencies could still perform their functions with less taxpayer
assistance. And even though they have proposed budget cuts before, only
to be rejected by Congress, his top advisers want to dig in on the cuts
this year, convinced Americans will support them."

There is tremendous waste
and bloat in the defense budget. Yet, Trump and his henchmen ignore
both. Forget? Their corporate masters call the shots.

"Still, according to Trump’s
budget, the spending cuts would do little to reduce what is shaping up
to be a colossal deficit in the next several years. The budget would spend
much more money than it brings in through revenue, and that gap is called
the deficit."

Further proof positive
the Trump nazi and his henchmen don't know what they're doing. Worse?
Don't care. Anything to line the pockets of the corporate management
suite. Unbridled greed? Rules.

"The budget foresees a
$1.1 trillion deficit in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and a $1 trillion deficit
in 2022."

Not sustainable.

"These deficits will add
to the existing $22 trillion debt and put further strain on the budget.
For example, the White House now projects the government will spend $482
billion on interest payments for the debt next year, more than the entire
budget for Medicaid, which provides health care benefits for millions of
people. Republicans have long called for taking steps that shrink — or
even eliminate — the deficit, and putting forward a plan that would create
$4.3 trillion in new debt over four years could give Democrats fresh targets
on the campaign trail."

The only sustainable way
to reduce the deficit is to rein in defense. Forget? We spend
more on defense than ostensibly the next five countries combined.

"There is a crowded field
of Democrats seeking to win their party’s primary to challenge Trump next
November. While Trump has called for boosting the military, cutting taxes,
and cutting the budgets of domestic agencies and social welfare programs,
many of the Democrats have proposed something much different. Several have
called for raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, expanding access
to Medicare, and providing more benefits that help pay for college. White
House officials believe Trump’s economic agenda has proven very successful
so far, leading to job growth, higher wages, and economic growth. But critics
have alleged that he achieved this in part through huge levels of fiscal
stimulus, including tax cuts and spending increases, that have widened
the deficit and adding several trillion dollars to the government’s debt."

That's a problem.
Growing worse with passage of time. Not sustainable.

"The budget does reflect
the changing nature of Trump’s agenda since taking office. He has continued
to try to pump more money into the military and border security programs,
and the budget provides funding for the creation of a “Space Force,” and
a U.S. Space Command, ideas Trump has personally pushed even while he ran
into some resistance from military leaders and congressional Republicans."

For damned good reason.
What he proposes is not sustainable. Remains undoable. Will
lead to an unwanted dreaded second American revolution.

"While his Democratic
rivals for the White House next year ramp up their attacks on his policy
agenda, Democrats in Congress are planning to challenge him in the coming
months on his budget plan. In addition to the Sept. 30, 2019 deadline to
reach a spending agreement, lawmakers believe they will also need to reach
an agreement to raise the debt ceiling around that time. The debt ceiling
is a borrowing cap established by Congress, and it prohibits the Treasury
Department from issuing more debt. The government is bumping up against
the debt limit now, and the Treasury Department has begun emergency steps
to buy more time so Congress can eventually vote to raise it. Several lawmakers
have said they expect the debt ceiling to be raised as part of a broader
budget deal this summer or fall. But if budget talks bog down later this
year amid a fight over border wall funding, it could force lawmakers to
rethink this timeline and their entire approach."

None of this is sustainable.
Unchecked will lead to the unthinkable. An unwanted dreaded second
American revolution.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

A pig is a pig.
Care to argue? The Washington Post reports:

"Tucker Carlson refused
to apologize Sunday after audio surfaced of him degrading women and airing
controversial opinions about statutory rape and underage marriage on a
radio program between 2006 and 2011. Instead, the Fox News host plugged
his prime-time show and urged his detractors to come on as guests."

"Carlson was widely criticized
on Sunday following a report from the nonprofit Media Matters for America
that compiled and transcribed more than a dozen instances of the host appearing
on the “Bubba the Love Sponge Show,” a popular radio program broadcast
from Tampa. In the segments, Carlson suggested underage marriage is not
as serious as forcible child rape, called rape shield laws “totally unfair”
and once said he would “love” a scenario involving young girls sexually
experimenting. He also described women as “extremely primitive,” and used
words such as “pig” and the c-word."

Jesus Christ. Couldn't
be Carlson has exposed Republican national socialists, fascists, nazis
for precisely whom and what they are, could it? LOL.

"In a statement emailed
to The Washington Post on Sunday, Carlson took a defiant stance. “Media
Matters caught me saying something naughty on a radio show more than a
decade ago,” he said. “Rather than express the usual ritual contrition,
how about this: I’m on television every weeknight live for an hour. If
you want to know what I think, you can watch. Anyone who disagrees with
my views is welcome to come on and explain why.”

"Carlson, who was employed
by MSNBC before being hired by Fox News in 2009 as a contributor, reportedly
spent about an hour a week calling in to the show hosted by “shock jock”
Bubba the Love Sponge, born Todd Clem, according to Media Matters. During
his appearances, Carlson and the show’s hosts discussed a wide range of
cultural and political topics, including sexual abuse. On at least two
separate occasions, Carlson voiced opinions on underage marriage and Warren
Jeffs, the former leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints who is currently serving a life sentence for child rape."

An opinion is like an
asshole. Everyone's got one. The asshole, however, serves a
useful purpose. An opinion does not. LOL.

"In September 2006, just
months after Jeffs had been added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s
Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, Carlson slammed the criminal charges,
calling them “bulls---.” “Now this guy may be ... may be a child rapist,”
Carlson said. “I’m just telling you that arranging a marriage between a
16-year-old and a 27-year-old is not the same as pulling a stranger off
the street and raping her.”

Jesus Christ. You
Republican nazis agree?

"Three years later in
another segment on the radio show, Carlson clarified that he was not defending
underage marriage but added, “I just don’t think it’s the same thing exactly
as pulling a child from a bus stop and sexually assaulting that child.”

Jesus Christ. Think
this f--ker in possession of all his marbles?

"Carlson went on to say
that if he had made the laws, “Michael Vick would have been executed, and
Warren Jeffs would be out on the street.” Vick, a former NFL quarterback,
was sentenced to 23 months in 2007 for dogfighting. “I’m not for child
rape,” he said. “I’m just saying, if you mistreat dogs like that, we’re
going to have to execute you.”

Jesus Christ. Nothing
quite like 'enlightenment,' is there?

"In other segments, Carlson
called for the elimination of rape shield laws, which are intended to protect
the identities and histories of victims of sex crimes and engaged in a
conversation about young girls and their sexual behavior. On the laws,
he said in May 2006: “So if I’m alleging rape, I have the protection of
anonymity. I can say whatever I want while hiding behind anonymity, while
the person I accused, whether he’s guilty or not, has his life destroyed.
That’s totally unfair.” Then, in an October 2009 show, Bubba the Love Sponge
launched into what appeared to be a hypothetical description of the young
girls at the boarding school attended by Carlson’s daughter experimenting
with each other sexually. “I ain’t got my mom and dad here telling me that
they love me and tuck me in bed,” the radio host said. “So, here’s Trixie,
she wants to explore my body a little bit, so hey, let’s go crazy.” Carlson
responded: “If it weren’t my daughter, I would love that scenario.”

Jesus Christ. Gets
worse. Get this:

"Over the years on the
show, Carlson also repeatedly spoke about women using language that many
found to be offensive. He once said, “I love women, but they’re extremely
primitive, they’re basic, they’re not that hard to understand.” In another
appearance, he implied that women like being instructed by men to “just
be quiet and kind of do what you’re told.” His criticism of women extended
to prominent figures, such as Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, HuffPost’s
former editor in chief Arianna Huffington and TV host Alexis Stewart, Martha
Stewart’s daughter. In May 2010, Carlson said he felt sorry for Kagan,
then a Supreme Court nominee, who was “never going to be an attractive
woman.” “I feel sorry for unattractive women,” he said, adding that the
“problems” with Kagan’s physical appearance were “fundamental.” He called
Huffington “a pig” and used the c-word when discussing Stewart, noting
that he wanted to “give her the spanking she so desperately needs."

"The audio from Media
Matters swiftly went viral. By early Monday, a video shared by the nonprofit
to Twitter had been watched more than 2 million times and Carlson was trending
with tens of thousands of mentions, many slamming the host as “sexist”
and condemning his views. “Shame on you,” actress and activist Alyssa Milano
tweeted, tagging Carlson. “You have daughters."

"Hey, @TuckerCarlson.
Shame on you. You have daughters. https://t.co/HX5ePEMgCN

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano)
March 11, 2019"

Public reaction from the
celebrity community goes on and on.

"Amid the backlash, some
flocked to defend Carlson, including prominent conservatives such as Donald
Trump Jr."

Surprised? Why?
Could it be he's a chip off the old block?

"For comments made on
the “Bubba The Love Sponge” show. Obviously a serious policy show where
no satire would be made.

"The left is not going
after @TuckerCarlson for any reason other then he’s effective at destroying
their agenda. That’s what they do. https://t.co/ExtAY86q5i

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr)
March 11, 2019"

... Hey, Donny boy?
Delusionally believe sexual assault is not a criminal problem? That
f--king stupid? ... Or, just a chip off the old block?

The Washington Post
reports:

"A day after releasing
audio of Tucker Carlson making numerous misogynist remarks, Media Matters
for America published a new video with clips of the Fox News host using
racist and homophobic language to describe Iraqi people, African Americans,
gay people and immigrants while speaking on a radio program between 2006
and 2011, according to a report published Tuesday by the nonprofit. The
self-described watchdog of “conservative misinformation in the U.S. media”
published the audio from Carlson’s appearances on a Tampa-based radio program,
the “Bubba the Love Sponge Show,” just 25 hours after releasing similar
recordings in which he’s heard flippantly using sexist language to express
his views on child rape, rape shield laws, underage marriage and other
sensitive topics."

In the best tradition
of the Republican Party? LOL. Delusionally believe the Democrats
are any better?

"The new audio highlights
about a dozen instances of Carlson using racist language on the “shock
jock” show, which he apparently called into for about an hour per week.
In 2008, Carlson lamented that “everyone’s embarrassed to be a white man,”
before stating that white men deserve credit for “creating civilization
and stuff.”

Pathetic, isn't it?

"In another instance,
Carlson is heard saying that Iraq is a “crappy place filled with a bunch
of, you know, semiliterate primitive monkeys,” adding, “That’s why it wasn’t
worth invading.” That follows a 2006 segment on the show in which Carlson
said he had “zero sympathy” for Iraqi people and their culture because
they “don’t use toilet paper or forks.” “They’re just so awful. Just awful,”
Carlson said. A co-host on the show replies: “They’re animals, dude. They
are." In what appears to be commentary on when the United States should
remove troops from Iraq, Carlson says, “The second we, I mean they, can
just shut the f--- up and obey, is my view.” “The second we leave, they’re
going to be calling for us to return because they can’t govern themselves,”
he adds."

Goes on and on.
In the best tradition of the Republican Party? Not that the Democrats
are any better. Clearly, we've lost our country.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

Think the following an
answer to the Trump nazi's stacking of the judiciary with Republican national
socialists, fascists, nazis? The Washington Post reports:

"The once-remote idea
of adding more justices to the Supreme Court to change its ideological
bent is prompting growing discussion within the Democratic Party, creating
a new frontier for presidential candidates looking to display their liberal
credentials."

Think so? ... Or,
is it no more than unadulterated bullshit perpetrated by an increasingly
desperate Democratic Party that has clearly run out of gas?

"Former attorney general
Eric H. Holder Jr., who recently decided against running for president,
became the latest figure to embrace an expansion of the nine-member court
in recent talks at Yale Law School and Columbia University. He questioned
the validity of the current court, given Senate Republicans’ refusal to
vote on Judge Merrick Garland after President Barack Obama nominated him
to the Supreme Court in March 2016. The seat was ultimately filled by President
Trump’s nomination of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch."

He's got a point:

“Given the Merrick Garland
situation, the question of legitimacy is one that I think we should talk
about,” Holder said. “We should be talking even about expanding the number
of people who serve on the Supreme Court, if there is a Democratic president
and a Congress that would do that.”

Would certainly set off
a firestorm. Forget? Republicans have been eminently successful
driving the Supreme Court to the Nazi Right since Richard Nixon was sworn
in January 20, 1969.

"His comments come as
activists launch an organized effort to prod the presidential contenders
to say publicly they’re open to such ideas. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
has called adding justices — or imposing term limits on them — “interesting
ideas that I would have to think more about.” Pete Buttigeig, the mayor
of South Bend, Ind., who is exploring a presidential campaign, has responded
to questions by inviting consideration of either adding justices or rotating
them on and off the court. He has also discussed a new 15-justice structure
for the court — five Democratic appointees, five Republican appointees,
and five chosen by the other 10."

Think Republicans will
go along after enjoying fifty years of successfully loading the Supreme
Court with their fellow nazis?

"Conservatives have long
been galvanized by the promise of moving the Supreme Court to the right,
making it a sometimes significant factor in their voting decisions. Now
liberals, angered by the aggressive GOP push to remake the federal courts,
are becoming equally impassioned, prompting the discussion of far-reaching
ideas for remaking the nation’s highest legal body."

The Supreme Court needs
to be in the Center politically. Certainly, has not been the
last century or so. This needs to change. Alternative?
An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming
quite some time.

"The concept of expanding
the Supreme Court, like the phrase “court packing” itself, fell into lengthy
disrepute after 1937, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt — frustrated
that conservative justices were blocking New Deal programs he considered
to be crucial for the country — sought to add six friendlier justices,
prompting an outcry even from allies."

Proof positive, a nazi-leaning
Court has been a problem for decades. LOL.

"Some liberal activists
and scholars say the idea now merits a new look. They view the GOP’s refusal
to consider Garland as tantamount to stealing a Supreme Court seat, and
they contend that the Senate paid insufficient attention to the sexual
misconduct allegations against Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in last year’s
confirmation hearing, which he forcefully denied."

Outrageously fascist Republican
shills for the Trump nazi in the Senate certainly deliberately ignored
Kavanaugh's 'indiscretions.' -- No kinder way to put it considering
the circumstances.

"Republicans, these activists
fear, have in essence created a judicial buffer against any future liberal
agenda if Democrats recapture the White House and Congress. “Democrats
cannot sit back and accept the status quo of a partisan Republican five-seat
majority for the next 30 years,” said Brian Fallon, a former adviser to
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and to Senate Minority Leader Charles
E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who now runs the advocacy group Demand Justice. “We
don’t consider those two seats that Trump has filled to be legitimate.”

They're not. Certainly,
don't reflect the thinking of the majority and/or will of the people.
Worse? Republicans successfully lined the Court with two illegitimate
GOP nazis.

"Fallon has been in contact
with a new group, Pack the Courts, which seeks to inject the idea of restructuring
the court into the presidential campaign. Supporters of the group were
responsible for publicizing Holder’s recent comments and for prompting
Buttigieg’s response, and they have reached out to other campaigns. “The
strategy is to make the 2020 candidates understand that if they don’t come
up with an agenda to deal with the courts, everything they are talking
about is going to be dead on arrival,” said Aaron Belkin, executive director
of Pack the Courts and a professor at San Francisco State University."

Hopefully, that strategy
is viable. If not, the pending alternative is not acceptable.
An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.

"Leaders of the grass-roots
network Indivisible, which helped organize for Democrats in the 2018 campaign,
have also voiced support for changes in the court. Ezra Levin, the group’s
co-executive director, said the idea comes up regularly in the group’s
meetings. Activists like Levin say that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.) has warped the judicial nomination process by using unprecedented
tactics to confirm young, far-right judges."

These judges are bona
fide nazis. Highly reflective of where the German Nazi element stood
in 1933 at the beginning of Hitler's Third Reich.

“Indivisible is strongly
against packing the courts — which is why we think we need to expand the
courts, to undo all the packing that has been done in recent years,” Levin
said."

Good luck.

"McConnell, for his part,
says Democrats are merely upset at Republican success in putting qualified
conservative judges on the bench despite Democratic obstructionism. The
new interest in court-packing, he says, reflects liberal extremism."

Like other Republican
nazis, McConnell's head remains figuratively securely lodged up his ass.
His party presents a direct threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties. Has so the last fifty years. Fascism,
nazism, national socialism defined as the pernicious blend of government,
business, and religion. 'Justified' by perversion and bastardization of
the latter. ... Not that the Democrats are any better, however.
Just as f--ked up but in the opposite partisan direction.

“Some left-wing publications
are already trying to lay the groundwork for, you guessed it, literally
packing the court with more justices,” McConnell said on the Senate floor
after Kavanaugh’s swearing-in ceremony. “That’s right, the far left has
gone scrounging through the ash-heap of American history and they’re bandying
about that discredited fantasy from the 1930s.”

... And you current Republican
national socialists, fascists, bona fide nazis are reflecting your German
Nazi mentors circa 1933 when Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Nazi Germany.
Precisely, why an unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically
looms. You don't know that? That hopelessly ignorant?

"Members of both parties,
however, decry the fact that Supreme Court confirmation fights, including
Kavanaugh’s, have increasingly degenerated into drawn-out battles featuring
personal attacks, bitter recriminations and charges of bad faith."

That's so because it is
now the truth. As our formerly great country nazifies under the Republican
Party. As Democrats become increasingly ineffective combating this
nazi scourge.

The following is a good
idea. Should be carefully considered:

"Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)
has endorsed a proposal from Bruce Ackerman, a professor at Yale Law School,
to end lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court and instead shift justices
onto lower courts after stints of 14 or 18 years. Under this plan, presidents
would appoint new justices at regular intervals, arguably lowering the
temperature and the stakes for each confirmation. “There is something that
is wrong in our country when our Supreme Court hearings are becoming the
high-stakes affairs that they are, almost like presidential elections,”
Khanna said. “The Founding Fathers never intended that.”

The Founders did not intend
what is currently going on in our formerly great country. Likely
spinning in their graves.

"Legal scholars say it’s
not clear if the Constitution allows term limits for justices if they remain
on the federal bench after leaving the high court. The Constitution says
federal judges “both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their
Offices during good Behaviour,” which has generally been interpreted to
mean lifetime appointments."

That needs to change.
By constitutional amendment if necessary. Status quo is not sustainable.
Our formerly great country is coming apart at the seams.

"The Constitution is also
silent on the size of the Supreme Court. There were six justices after
the Judiciary Act of 1789 and 10 under President Abraham Lincoln, and there
have been nine since 1869."

"The current debate comes
as the Supreme Court, and the judiciary more broadly, is increasingly a
focus of impassioned political debate. Both major party presidential candidates
in 2016 outlined explicit litmus tests for their nominees. Trump has repeatedly
attacked federal judges as political actors when they rule against his
interests, sometimes calling them “Obama judges.”

Trump remains no more
than out of control Republican national socialist, fascist, nazi.
Presents an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties.

"That prompted Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr., a defender of the judiciary who was appointed by President
George W. Bush, to take the rare step of publicly pushing back. “We do
not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,”
Roberts said last November. “What we have is an extraordinary group of
dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing
before them.”

While the substance of
his assertion remains in question, have to give the Chief Justice great
credit for at least stating the ideal. Not only that, Roberts is
nowhere near as nazi in his rulings as his four other Republican cohorts
on the Court.

"For some proponents of
court packing, the current effort could bring benefits even if Congress
never votes on it. Activists say the threat alone could pressure the justices
to avoid decisions that would inflame partisan fury by undoing legislative
or presidential actions."

Wouldn't count on that.
Conveniently, forget? The four other Republican nazis on the Court
can't be trusted to do the right thing. Remain sorely out of control.
An exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights
and liberties.

“If Roberts is genuinely
looking to preserve his institution, he has some runway here,” said Ian
Millhiser, a columnist at the liberal website ThinkProgress who wrote a
recent article defending court packing. Millhiser and others say they’re
particularly concerned about potential court decisions on gerrymandering,
voting rights and other matters that directly affect the democratic process
and could make it harder for Democrats to win elections. “It’s the existential
democratic issues that provide the most principled basis” for a change
to the Supreme Court, said Todd Tucker, a political scientist at the Roosevelt
Institute."

The following is also
undoubtedly true:

"Some legal scholars warn,
though, that the debate over court-packing risks weakening the court’s
credibility further, since it suggests that the court is irrevocably political
in its current form. “The risk is really, one way or another, undermining
the ability of the court to play the role it has played in American democracy,”
said David Strauss, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
“People have to be willing to go along with what the court does.”

Most of us no longer do.
That alone at the very least presents a challenge to the authority of the
Court.

"Roberts has made clear
over the years that he is sensitive to the danger of politicization. In
a 2015 address to the Historical Society of the New York Courts, he praised
former chief justice Charles Evans Hughes, who successfully worked to defeat
Roosevelt’s plan to add six justices to the court. “It fell to Hughes to
guide a very unpopular Supreme Court through that high-noon showdown against
America’s most popular president since George Washington,” Roberts said.
He also praised Hughes for working “under the radar” to allow time for
Congress to realize the harm that would come from Roosevelt’s proposal."

No question, there is
a down side to any and all change. But change we must. Alternative?
Unacceptable. An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically
looming.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

Things don't look good
for Trump. NPR reports:

"There's already sufficient
evidence to support an indictment of President Trump even before the conclusion
of the special counsel investigation, California Rep. Adam Schiff said
Tuesday."

Couldn't be, could
it? LOL.

"The chairman of the House
intelligence committee pointed to the case of Michael Cohen, the president's
former personal lawyer, in which the government described how "Individual
1" directed and coordinated a campaign fraud scheme. "Individual 1" is
Trump, and Cohen is set to begin a three-year prison sentence in part because
of those crimes. "It's very difficult to make the argument that the
person who was directed and was coordinated should go to jail but the person
who did the directing and did the coordinating should not," Schiff told
reporters at a breakfast on Tuesday organized by the Christian Science
Monitor. The evidence therefore already in place argues "very strongly
in favor of indicting the president when he is out of office," he said.

"Current Justice Department
guidelines prohibit indicting a sitting president. But Schiff believes
that the department should reconsider this position, or indict Trump if
he loses re-election in 2020. "The Justice Department policy against indictment
is the wrong policy, particularly when there is any risk that the statute
of limitations may allow a president to escape justice," the chairman said.
Schiff stopped short of saying he thought Congress should impeach Trump
and remove him from office in order to prosecute what he called these offenses.
The chairman echoed the position of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her
interview on Monday and said that without buy-in from congressional Republicans
— who control the Senate — embarking upon the process today would be "doomed
for failure." "I see little to be gained by putting the country through
that kind of wrenching experience as I've often remarked in the past,"
he told reporters. "The only thing worse than putting the country through
the trauma of an impeachment is putting the country through the trauma
of a failed impeachment." Democrats have been careful not to close the
door entirely, however. Pelosi and others argue that Justice Department
special counsel Robert Mueller or other investigators could uncover evidence
of wrongdoing by Trump so egregious that it may compel a bipartisan case
for impeachment."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

"Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu said Arab citizens have equal rights under the law but
that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people — and only them. Soon
after, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said Israel "has complete equality
of rights for all its citizens."

Does it?

"Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is drawing criticism for saying that Israel is "the
national state, not of all its citizens, but only of the Jewish people."
The comment prompted many people — including Israel's president and the
star of Wonder Woman — to defend Israel's Palestinian Arab minority. Palestinian
Arab citizens are about a fifth of Israel's population and often face discrimination
and accusations of disloyalty."

"The prime minister's
comment set off criticism, debates over Israel's true nature — and observations
that with Israel's legislative elections now less than a month away, Netanyahu's
provocative language might be calculated to help his Likud Party at the
polls. Netanyahu and his party are warning that if they lose upcoming elections,
the new government could include Arab political parties."

So what? They're
Israeli citizens. Netanyahu is behaving like a nazi. That's
a problem. A big problem. Why is the United States providing
financial aid to a country that is now emulating its German Nazi oppressors
shortly after Hitler became Chancellor?

"The saga began when Israeli
actress and TV host Rotem Sela posted an Instagram story about comments
that Culture Minister and Likud member Miri Regev made during a news interview.
Sela questioned why Regev's statements about what she called the dangers
of Palestinian Arab citizens taking part in a governing coalition went
unchallenged. "When the hell will someone in this government tell the public
that Israel is a country of all its citizens," Sela wrote."

Goddamned right.
Good question. Needs to be answered by the Netanyahu nazi.

"Much of the dispute that
followed played out on Instagram, where Netanyahu responded to Sela, "Dear
Rotem, an important correction: Israel is not a state of all its citizens."
Referring to a hotly contested law adopted last year that defines Israel
as the nation-state of the Jewish people, the prime minister said Arab
citizens have equal rights under the law, but that Israel is the nation-state
of the Jewish people — and only them, Ynet News reported."

That's f--king nazism.
No more. No less. The Prime Minister has disgraced himself.
Why is the United States backing this nazi? Why?

"Israeli movie star Gal
Gadot, who plays Wonder Woman, weighed in, backing Sela and calling her
an inspiration. "Love thy neighbor as yourself. This isn't an issue of
right or left. Jew or Arab. Secular or religious," Gadot said on Instagram,
according to The Associated Press. "It's an issue of dialogue." On Monday,
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said on Twitter that Israel "has complete
equality of rights for all its citizens," adding, "There are no first-class
citizens, and there are no second-class voters. We are all equal in the
voting booth. We are all represented at the Knesset." Rivlin did not refer
to Netanyahu directly, saying in a tweet, "Recently, when political thinking
is turning all reason on its head, we hear entirely unacceptable remarks
about the Arab citizens of Israel."

That's right. Netanyahu
and those who think like him are emulating Hitler's Third Reich
at the beginning of their reign of terror. Wake up.
This is unacceptable. The United States cannot continue to financially
support Israel under these conditions.

"For political observers
in Israel, the story has echoes of 2015, when Netanyahu posted a last-minute
video on the day of a national election, claiming (falsely, it turned out)
that right-wing rule of Israel was in danger because large numbers of Arab
voters were heading to the polls in buses provided by left-wing groups.
The tactic was widely criticized — but it was also credited with helping
to sway the election result."

Netanyahu has betrayed
his people. Remains unfit to be Prime Minister.

"Earlier this month, the
Anti-Defamation League issued a statement in which it "called on Israeli
political leaders across the spectrum to stop delegitimizing Israeli Arab
political parties and vilifying the Arab minority population of Israel."
In that statement, Carole Nuriel, the director of ADL's Israel office,
said recent incidents of politicians using anti-Arab rhetoric were "a deeply
troubling trend that, if it continues, could undermine Israel's vibrant
democracy."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-15-19

Women are beginning to
fight back. Against the Republican nazis who are doing all they can
to dictate to women what they can and cannot do with THEIR uterus.
CBS News reports:

"A representative in the
Georgia Statehouse is drafting a rather blunt response to legislation that
would dictate when a woman could get an abortion. It's called the "Testicular
Bill of Rights," and state Rep. Dar'shun Kendrick said her legislative
package is all about turning the tables on her male counterparts seeking
to impose laws on a woman's reproductive rights."

Stick it to the nazi bastards.
What took so long?

"The move comes after
a Georgia House committee approved legislation last week to outlaw abortion
after a fetus' heartbeat can be detected, which is before many women know
they are pregnant. Women in Georgia can currently seek an abortion within
the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy. A heartbeat is generally detectable
by medical professionals at around six weeks. "HB-481 [The 'Heartbeat Bill']
inspired me to see what the reaction would be from some males and male
legislators if the tables were turned and we started to talk about their
reproductive rights and organs," Kendrick told CBS News on Tuesday."

"Kendrick announced her
"bill of rights" package on Twitter Monday. It includes, among many male-focused
proposals, legislation requiring men to obtain permission from their sex
partner before they get a prescription for any erectile dysfunction medication,
allowing men who have sex without a condom to be charged with aggravated
assault, and imposing a 24-hour "waiting period" for men who want to purchase
any pornography or sex toys in the state of Georgia."

LOL. Way to go.

"While the bills are currently
being drafted and have not yet been officially proposed, Kendrick said
that her overall objective was met. "It has started the conversation about
the absurdity of regulating women's bodies and right to choice and instead
focused on men and their rights," she said."

Force the the bills into
law. Do it. Republican nazis have been getting away with this
shit for decades. Time to stick it to the Aryan arrogant fascist
bastards.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Highly reminiscent
of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors,
Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black
who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they
please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.
It's appalling. Runs against the grain of everything our formerly
great country once stood for. No longer.

The following is well
beyond ironic. It's goddamned hopelessly Aryan arrogant. The
Washington Post reports:

"It’s not every day that
a police chief publicly scolds lawmakers who oversee his department. But
in January, and again last month, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham unceremoniously
rebuked two D.C. council members who had the unmitigated gall to look into
actions of his department. The objects of Newsham’s scorn were Charles
Allen (D-Ward 6), chairman of the council’s Judiciary Committee, and Brianne
K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1), who chairs the Human Services Committee."

Imagine that. Couldn't
be, could it? LOL.

"In an interview with
The Post on Jan. 4, Newsham bluntly charged that drug dealers in a trouble
spot in Northeast D.C. had “become emboldened by the hearing” conducted
by Allen’s committee that, in Newsham’s view, conveyed “the suggestion
the police had acted inappropriately there.” Think about it: the police
chief chastising the council for conducting oversight of policing strategies
and tactics in a troubled neighborhood — a major concern of residents.
In fact, Allen’s committee was acting properly, in keeping with the council’s
mandate."

Jesus Christ. Unbelievable,
isn't it? The Chief wants no oversight. Won't be accountable
to Congress or the public that pays his salary and that of his jackbooted
goons. ... Right, Sheriff?

"This week, Newsham, in
a letter to the editor, accused Nadeau of spreading “misinformation” about
the police department’s use of stop-and-frisk tactics. Nadeau said during
a telephone interview that she rejects “Newsham’s characterization.” Her
Feb. 15 opinion piece in The Post did call for the police to end stop-and-frisk
tactics until the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (Near) Act,
which the council unanimously passed in 2016, is fully implemented. The
Near Act mandates an approach to violent crime that focuses on diversion,
counseling and violence interruption. The act also requires data collection
on stop-and-frisk tactics, which Nadeau said she will use to evaluate the
practice. Nadeau was within her rights as a lawmaker to question the use
of stop and frisk and to criticize Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the chief
for, as she wrote, “not complying with the Near Act and all of its requirements.”

The jackbooted bastards
have no probable cause to stop and frisk. None. F--k these
out of control jackbooted assholes. ... Right, Sheriff?

"Newsham, of course, should
defend his department where a defense is due. Reprimanding city lawmakers
for doing their jobs, however, is way above his pay grade, and out of line.
Policing in the District, including the use of stop-and-frisk tactics,
is very much in the council’s bailiwick. And for good reasons. Consider
the experience of M.B. Cottingham, an African American ice cream vendor
and father of three who has lived in Southeast D.C. all his life. Excerpt
from an ACLU lawsuit against D.C. police Officer Sean Lojacono: “Late in
the afternoon of September 27, 2017, in a peaceful encounter with D.C.
police concerning an open container of alcohol, Mr. Cottingham gave Officer
Sean Lojacono permission to frisk him. Ranging far beyond what should have
been a limited pat-down for weapons, Officer Lojacono jammed his fingers
between Mr. Cottingham’s buttocks and grabbed his genitals. Mr. Cottingham
physically flinched and verbally protested, making clear that this highly
intrusive search was not within the scope of the frisk to which he had
consented. Officer Lojacono responded by handcuffing Mr. Cottingham and
returning to probe the most sensitive areas of his person — two more times."

“No warrant, probable
cause, reasonable suspicion, or consent justified the scope of these probes,
which were conducted in broad daylight in public and with no other discernible
reason than to humiliate and degrade Mr. Cottingham and to display the
officer’s power over him.” In December, the District and Lojacono reached
a settlement that involved the city forking over an undisclosed payment
to Cottingham."

"Allen’s public hearing
last summer — for which Newsham reprimanded him — covered the same turf:
aggressive police tactics in troubled neighborhoods."

Hear the rumble?
An unwanted dreaded second American revolution catastrophically looming.
As the assholes in government do nothing to remedy the abuse.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Trouble in Trump paradise.
The
Washington Post reports:

"GOP opposition to President
Trump’s emergency declaration at the border grew in the Senate Thursday
[2-28-19],
even as Trump warned that fellow Republicans who vote to overturn it are
putting themselves “at great jeopardy” politically."

Think so?

"Two Republican senators,
Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined two Democrats
in introducing a disapproval resolution identical to one that passed the
House earlier this week. Collins and Murkowski had already announced plans
to support a disapproval resolution when it comes to a vote in the Senate,
which is expected sometime in the next two weeks. Another Republican senator,
Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, delivered a floor speech proposing how Trump
could get the money he wants to build his U.S.-Mexico border wall without
use of a national emergency. Alexander said that his suggestion, which
involves transferring larger sums from a Pentagon account that can be accessed
without a national emergency declaration, “avoids the constitutional crisis
of separation of powers.” And Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman
James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), who is typically a staunch Trump supporter,
said that if he determines Trump’s emergency declaration would jeopardize
military construction funds, he would be inclined to vote to overturn it.
“I think it’s probably good that the president, if he has to get this done,
go ahead and do it on an emergency — but not at the expense of the military,”
Inhofe said. “And if it ends up at the expense of the military, that it’s
going to inflict damage on the military, then I have to act accordingly.”

Moreover:

"Along with Collins and
Murkowski, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has also announced plans to support
a disapproval resolution to nullify Trump’s emergency declaration. The
disapproval resolution requires only a simple majority vote to pass the
Senate, meaning only four Republicans would have to break ranks to ensure
passage, given unified Democratic support for overturning Trump’s move.
Supporters of the disapproval resolution remained one vote short of the
threshold for passage Thursday, since Inhofe said he was still waiting
to determine whether and how the military construction funds would be tapped,
and Alexander refused to say how he would vote, saying it was a hypothetical
question because the White House still has time to pursue a different course
of action."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Think Trump isn't doing
all he can to nazify the judiciary? NBC News reports:

"The Senate Judiciary
Committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of Neomi Rao to replace
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia. The committee voted along party lines, 12-10,
to send the nomination to the full Senate despite concerns from members
of both parties about her past writings on gender equality and sexual assault
as well as her record as a regulatory official."

This woman is not qualified,
nor fit to be a judge. Will determinedly, concertedly, psychotically
legislate her outrageously perverse ideological and religious views from
the bench.

"Rao, 45, is currently
President Donald Trump’s “regulatory czar” at the little known but powerful
Office of Informational and Regulatory Affairs. The top Democrat on the
committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, said she opposed the nominee
because of her “troubling and aggressive record” at unwinding environmental,
labor and Title IX protections. The D.C. Circuit often hears cases involving
regulations and federal agencies — and can be a springboard to nominees
for the Supreme Court."

Precisely, why the Trump
nazi wants this fellow fascist on the court.

"Ultimately all 12 Republicans
on the committee voted in favor after Rao met privately with two who had
expressed reservations about her past writings."

Jesus Christ. These
national socialist, fascist, nazi Republicans clearly place party before
the United States Constitution, all civil and constitutional rights and
liberties.

"Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa
had expressed concerns with Rao during her confirmation hearing last month
over Rao’s writings about women and sexual assault as a student at Yale
University. Ernst said she had “hesitations” about the vote, calling Rao's
college writings “abhorrent.”

Yet, voted for this piece
of crap. Worse? Get this. Abject bullshit:

"Ernst said she had decided
to support Rao because of her “unique perspectives on administrative law.”
But she offered a warning shot should Rao ever be nominated to the Supreme
Court: “My decision and my vetting process may be very different.”

Jesus Christ.

The following is sheer
insanity:

"The other Republican
to meet privately with Rao, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, raised last-minute
concerns about her position on abortion, saying he was concerned that the
nominee was not sufficiently opposed to abortion rights."

Clearly, this piece of
human excrement believes he can dictate to a woman what she can and cannot
do with HER uterus. Raw nazism.

"Rao met Hawley in his
temporary office in the basement of a Senate office building on the eve
of the hearing, and Hawley announced Thursday morning at the committee
meeting that he would vote to advance the nomination, calling his meeting
with her “particularly instructive.” He said that she had assured him that
she believes that the text of the Constitution is “fixed.”

Translation?
It's what this insane piece of shit and his fellow nazis conveniently
define it to be.

"While attending Yale,
Rao often wrote about date rape, sexual assault and the responsibility
of those involved. At times, she placed the onus on women to “accept responsibility.”
At her confirmation hearing, Rao insisted that “no one should blame a victim”
of sexual assault, but she also said some of what she wrote amounted to
“common sense observations” that would make women less likely to be victims
of assault."

Called talking out both
sides the ass. -- The national socialist, fascist, nazi way.
Forget?

"She later wrote a letter
to the committee attempting to further distance herself from those writings."

Surprised?

NPR reports:

"Days after its official
publication, a new Trump administration rule dramatically overhauling the
federal Title X family planning program is facing multiple legal challenges.
Several medical and reproductive rights groups, as well as 21 state attorneys
general, have filed lawsuits challenging the rule, which bans any organization
that provides or refers women for abortions from receiving funds through
the program to provide services such as contraception and STD screenings.
The latest lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the Center for Reproductive Rights,
aims to block what abortion rights advocates are describing as a "gag rule."
CRR is filing the suit on behalf of Maine Family Planning, the sole Title
X grantee in Maine."

Who the hell is this fascist
asshole to force his perverse ideological and religious views on the rest
of us?

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Amazing how two sides
can so differ in both perception and rendition of reality. ... Then
again, with two lunatic dictators involved, what else can be expected?
NPR reports:

"As President Trump headed
home dealless from Vietnam following his aborted summit with Kim Jong Un,
North Korean officials held an impromptu middle-of-the-night news conference
at a Hanoi hotel, offering an account about the failed talks that differed
from Trump's."

Surprised? Why?
Forget? Truth's indeed a moving target. Especially difficult
to discern with two congenital liars at the center of the dispute.

"What we proposed was
not the removal of all sanctions but the partial removal," Foreign Minister
Ri Yong Ho said through an interpreter in Hanoi. He said North Korea sought
relief from five U.N. sanctions imposed in 2016 and 2017 that hurt the
country's economy, out of a total of 11, in exchange for disabling its
main nuclear complex. But earlier, Trump said at his own news conference
from Hanoi that Kim, North Korea's leader, "wanted the sanctions lifted
in their entirety, and we couldn't do that."

Somebody's lying.
LOL. ... Shall we flip a coin?

"Trump sought to emphasize
his comity with Kim, saying that the meeting was filled with "warmth" but
that he opted to leave with no deal rather than agree to a bad deal."

Called bullshit.
-- What the Trump nazi remains quite adept at. Proficiency, -- second
to none.

"I could have 100 percent
signed something," Trump said. "I'd much rather do it right than do it
fast."

"He said he hopes to meet
with Kim soon to try for negotiations again, although he has no current
plans."

No more than a bogus reality
show anyway.

"Ri, however, indicated
that another meeting may well be fruitless as the North will not budge.
"Our proposal will never be changed."

So what else is new?
Same old, same old. Forget? Bullshit reins.

"He said that in exchange
for partial sanctions relief, North Korea was willing to "permanently and
completely dismantle all the nuclear material production facilities in
the Yongbyon area, including plutonium and uranium, in the presence of
U.S. experts." In addition, Ri said the North would also put a "permanent
halt" on nuclear and long-range missile testing "in order to lower the
concerns of the United States." He said that given the "current level of
confidence" between North Korea and the U.S., the proposal "was the biggest
denuclearization measure we could take."

All bullshit. The
North Koreans won't give up nuclear weapons. Why would they?
Remains their trump card. -- No pun intended.

"But North Korea has long
resisted giving a full accounting of its arsenal or giving total access
to inspectors — moves that experts say are necessary to verify it is giving
up its weapons."

Why would they when they
have no intention of disarming? All a ruse.

"Trump said at the news
conference in Hanoi that the U.S. brought up other threats it knows about
during negotiations, saying, "I think they were surprised we knew." Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo added that even if Yongbyon is disabled, it "still
leaves missiles, still leaves warheads and weapons systems, so there's
a lot of other elements that we just couldn't get to." "They have to give
up more," Trump said."

Not likely to happen.
Why would it? The dictator has an iron fist, strong grip on power.
Not threatened with overthrow.

"The president made a
pit stop Thursday at Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to refuel
on his way back to Washington, D.C. And while he did not directly address
Ri's remarks in his address to troops there, White House press secretary
Sarah Sanders said he was aware of them. But after Trump left his second
summit with Kim, with North Korea no closer to denuclearizing, the U.S.
president sought to underscore American military might in his remarks to
the troops. "America does not seek conflict, but if we are forced to defend
ourselves, we will fight and we will win in an overwhelming fashion."

Hard to believe past presidents
haven't made quite clear to North Korea their country would be quickly
turned to glass should they ever use their nuclear weapons.

CBS News reports:

"Ri said the North had
also offered the prospect of getting its one-year-plus halt to nuclear
and ballistic missile tests cemented in writing. Mr. Trump had said ahead
of the Vietnam summit that, "as long as there's no testing, we're happy."
North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Sun Hui said Mr. Trump's reaction
to the deal offered up by his country surprised Kim. He said Kim "may have
lost his will (to continue) North Korea-U.S. dealings." A senior State
Department official confirmed to U.S. journalists that the North Koreans
had sought the lifting only of United Nations Security Council sanctions
imposed since March of 2016. The concession would have removed sanctions
on a wide range of goods, but not weapons. The State Department official
said it would have amounted to "many billions of dollars in sanctions relief,"
which would, "in effect put us in a position of subsidizing the ongoing
development of weapons of mass destruction."

"Mr. Trump alluded to
the changing characterization of why the talks broke down in a tweet on
Friday morning, lauding the discussions as "substantive," and proclaiming
"we know what they want and they know what we must have."

"Great to be back from
Vietnam, an amazing place. We had very substantive negotiations with Kim
Jong Un - we know what they want and they know what we must have. Relationship
very good, let’s see what happens!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
March 1, 2019"

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

More fallout from the
failed summit. NBC News reports:

"The parents of Otto Warmbier
issued a blistering statement Friday saying Kim Jong Un and his government
"are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity" after President
Donald Trump asserted that the North Korean dictator had been unaware of
the harrowing treatment the student endured while detained there. "We have
been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim
and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto," Fred
and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible
for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can
change that."

That's right. Trump's
out to lunch. Disgraced himself and our formerly great country.

"Warmbier was arrested
for taking a propaganda banner from a hotel while on a visit to Pyongyang
in January 2016. The University of Virginia student from Ohio was sentenced
to 15 years of hard labor, but was released after 17 months. Warmbier,
22, died shortly after he returned to the United States. His parents were
told he had been in a coma since not long after he was sentenced. When
he was brought back to Cincinnati after his release, his father said he
"was jerking violently, making these inhuman sounds.” “He was blind, he
was deaf," Fred Warmbier had said."

The 'president' again
disgraced himself:

"Trump said Thursday that
Kim was not responsible for and had no knowledge of the horrific treatment
Warmbier suffered while he was detained in that country for 17 months.
"Some really bad things happened to Otto — some really, really bad things.
But he tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his
word," Trump said, referring to Kim."

Unf--king believable.
Trump's not fit for office. Out to lunch.

"I really don't think
it was in his interest at all," he added at a press conference following
the collapse of a nuclear summit in Hanoi. Kim "knew the case very well,
but he knew it later," Trump said. Trump's comments were a glaring reversal
from those he made during his first State of the Union address in 2018,
which the Warmbiers attended. "After a shameful trial, the dictatorship
sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labor before returning him to America
last June, horribly injured and on the verge of death," Trump said at the
time. He asked the emotional Warmbiers to stand up for applause, and called
them "incredible people." "You are powerful witnesses to a menace that
threatens our world, and your strength truly inspires us all. Thank you,"
he said to them."

Disgrace to himself and
our formerly great country.

"Trump's remarks Thursday
were met with backlash from both sides of the aisle."

Talk. No action.
Gutless. Un-American.

"Last year, an American
judge ruled Warmbier's parents were entitled to more than $500 million
in damages from North Korea's government."

Good luck trying to collect
it. ... A thought...the billionaire in the Oval Office can certainly
bankroll his bosom buddy, the North Korean dictator.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Trump continues to lie
vis a vis the trade deficit. Did so recently during a news conference
in Hanoi after talks broke down between the U.S. and North Koreans. The
Washington Post reports:

“You saw trade deficits
went down last month and everyone’s trying to figure out why. Well, we’re
taking a lot of tariff money. And it has reduced the trade deficit.”

— President Trump, remarks
in Hanoi, Feb. 28

"The president really,
really, really wants trade deficits to decline. But reality keeps biting.
During his news conference in Hanoi after the collapse of summit talks
with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump made the observation above.
It reminded us of the time in mid-2018 when he repeatedly claimed the quarterly
trade deficit had declined $52 billion and complained that “nobody reports
it.” Well, that’s because it was not true. He stopped making that claim
after our fact check appeared. But now he highlights a one-month decline
in the trade deficit — and says it’s because “we’re taking in a lot of
tariff money.” But this is also not correct."

Doesn't stop the Trump
nazi from continuing to lie, however. LOL.

"Regular readers know
that we frequently say that Trump’s obsession with trade deficits is misplaced.
A trade deficit simply means that people in one country are buying more
goods from another country than people in the second country are buying
from the first country. Americans want to buy these products from overseas,
either because of quality or price. The trade-deficit numbers are
also shaped by underlying factors, such as an imbalance between a country’s
savings and investment rates. A bigger federal budget deficit — caused
by, say, a large tax cut or more government spending — can boost the trade
deficit because the country saves less and borrows more from abroad. The
booming economy can also be at fault — the more money people have, the
more they can spend on goods from overseas. And a strong currency means
those foreign goods are cheaper for a particular country and its goods
are more expensive for foreign consumers."

No more than Economics
101.

"Nevertheless, the president
keeps citing trade deficit figures, so we will have to keep fact-checking
him. The day before the president spoke in Hanoi, the Commerce Department
released an advance report of the December trade deficit. It showed the
deficit for trade in merchandise — the figure Trump often refers to — was
$79.5 billion in December, up $9 billion from $70.5 billion in November.
We presume Trump was not paying attention to trade data while he was involved
in high-level diplomacy. So it’s safe to assume he was referring to the
November figures. (We did not get an explanation from the White House.)"

Surprised?
LOL.

"Indeed, the earlier report
shows that the goods deficit decreased $6.7 billion, to $71.6 billion.
But, as we have just shown, the deficit went up the next month — to what
turns out to be a record high (before inflation) for the goods deficit.
Actually, a better measure would be to compare November 2018 to November
2017. That shows the trade deficit increased year over year."

Trump, his henchmen, sick
sycophants can't, won't be confused with the truth.

Report goes on and on.
Here's the bottom line:

"The Pinocchio Test

"The president keeps seizing
on scraps of data — a month here or a quarter there — to falsely claim
the trade deficit is being reduced. But over the course of the year, it
kept growing. Attributing a small one-month shift to tariffs is especially
silly.

"It would be better for
the president to end his focus on the trade deficit, because whether it
grows or shrinks is largely beyond his control. But in the meantime, he
earns Four Pinocchios."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

More of the same.
Lies. Deception. Deceit. NBC News reports:

"President Donald Trump
overruled concerns of security officials and his own White House counsel
and ordered that a top-secret security clearance be given to Jared Kushner,
his son-in-law and senior adviser, The New York Times reported Thursday.
According to the account, the president ordered John Kelly, then his chief
of staff, to give Kushner a top-secret security clearance in May 2018,
a move that upset some senior administration officials and led Kelly and
the White House counsel at the time, Donald McGahn, to each write internal
memos about the incident. McGahn's memo laid out concerns raised about
Kushner and the fact that McGahn had recommended against giving him a clearance
that high-level."

"Reaction to the report
from some Democrats was swift. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who chairs the
House Intelligence Committee, tweeted that "the mystery" of how Kushner
was granted a top-secret security clearance has been solved. "His father
in law ordered it."

"The mystery of how Jared
Kushner was granted a top secret security clearance despite myriad financial
entanglements and undisclosed foreign meetings has been solved:

"His father in law ordered
it.

"It’s called clearance
by nepotism and a serious abuse that endangers our security. https://t.co/XMt8HmlvuU

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff)
March 1, 2019"

No question. Abuse
of power for a self-serving agenda.

"Rep. Elijah Cummings,
D-Md., chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued a statement saying
that his panel last month began an investigation of the White House security-clearance
process. "To date, the White House has not produced a single document or
scheduled a single interview," he wrote."

Unbridled Aryan arrogance
displayed by the Trump nazi and his henchmen. Force the issue.
Subpoena the material.

"NBC News reported last
month that two career White House security specialists rejected Kushner's
application for a top-secret clearance after a FBI background check raised
concerns about potential foreign influence on him, but they were overruled
by their supervisor, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Kushner's FBI background check identified questions about his family's
business, his foreign contacts, his foreign travel and meetings he had
during the campaign, sources told NBC News. The supervisor, Carl Kline,
is a former Pentagon employee who was installed as director of the personnel
security office in the Executive Office of the President in May 2017, though
he is no longer in that position."

Imagine that.

"Kushner's was one of
at least 30 cases in which Kline overruled career security experts and
approved a top-secret clearance for incoming Trump officials despite unfavorable
information, the two sources said. They said the number of rejections that
were overruled was unprecedented — it had happened only once in the three
years preceding Kline's arrival. The sources, who spoke on condition of
anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information, said the
Trump White House attracted many people with untraditional backgrounds
who had complicated financial and personal histories, some of which raised
red flags."

Moreover:

"Kushner is also among
dozens of staff members in the administration who previously held an interim
SCI clearance. SCI, sensitive compartmented information, is classified
material that gets more detailed than top-secret information and can include
sources and methods. As chief of staff, Kelly outlined an overhaul to the
processing of security clearances and to discontinue any interim clearances
for staff in the Executive Office of the President, NBC News reported last
year."

The Washington Post
reports:

"President Trump early
last year directed his then-chief of staff, John F. Kelly, to give presidential
son-in-law Jared Kushner a top-secret security clearance — a move that
made Kelly so uncomfortable that he documented the request in writing,
according to current and former administration officials. After Kushner,
a senior White House adviser, and his wife, Ivanka Trump, pressured the
president to grant Kushner the long-delayed clearance, Trump instructed
Kelly to fix the problem, according to a person familiar with Kelly’s account,
who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
Kelly told colleagues that the decision to give Kushner top-secret clearance
was not supported by career intelligence officials, and he memorialized
Trump’s request in an internal memo, according to two people familiar with
the memo and the then-chief of staff’s concerns. It is unclear how Kelly
responded to Trump’s directive. But by May, Kushner had been granted a
permanent security clearance to view top-secret material — a move that
followed months of concern inside the White House about his inability to
secure such access. Kushner’s attorney publicly described the process as
one that had gone through normal channels, a description that Kelly did
not view as accurate, according to a person familiar with his reaction.
The former chief of staff, who left the administration at the beginning
of this year, did not immediately respond to a request for comment."

Chickens are finally coming
home to roost. ... Or, so it seems.

"House Intelligence Committee
Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a statement late Thursday that
his panel, as well as the House Oversight Committee, will continue in their
investigation of the White House’s security clearance process. “The revelation
that President Trump personally intervened to overrule White House security
officials and the Intelligence Community to grant a Top Secret security
clearance to his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is the latest indicator of
the President’s utter disregard for our national security and for the men
and women who sacrifice so much every day to keep us safe,” Schiff said.
“There is no nepotism exception for background investigations.”

Somebody's lying:

"Both Trump and his daughter,
Ivanka, have publicly denied the president was involved in securing a clearance
for Kushner. The president told the New York Times in a Jan. 31 interview
that he did not direct Kelly or similar officials to grant a clearance
for his son-in-law, and Ivanka Trump told ABC News earlier this month that
her father was not involved in the process."

Report goes on and on.
Convoluted, highly complex.

NBC News reports:

"The White House is refusing
to hand the House Oversight Committee documents that the panel has requested
in its probe into the administration's security clearance process, including
for President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The committee chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., blasted the White
House on Tuesday for asserting that his panel has not properly justified
its requests for documents in investigating the matter, setting up a possible
subpoena battle. "There is a key difference between a president who exercises
his authority under the Constitution and a president who overrules career
experts and his top advisers to benefit his family members and then conceals
his actions from the American people," Cummings said in a statement. "The
White House’s argument defies the Constitutional separation of powers,
decades of precedent before this Committee, and just plain common-sense,"
Cummings wrote. "The White House security clearance system is broken, and
it needs both congressional oversight and legislative reform. I will be
consulting with Members of the Committee to determine our next steps.”

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

In follow up to the last
edition vis a vis the Cohen hearing, NBC News reports:

"Former Trump lawyer Michael
Cohen uncorked many disturbing allegations in his seven hours of congressional
testimony this week, but only one that could be crucial to the future of
the special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Cohen testified he
was in the room when Republican strategist Roger Stone called President
Donald Trump and told him about an impending Wikileaks’ release of stolen
Democratic National Committee emails. Stone and Trump have not only denied
that claim — but also done so in a coordinated way that may shape what
Mueller ultimately does. The consequences here are simple. If Cohen lied
to Congress, he could be indicted for it and the world would soon find
out. If Cohen told the truth, then Trump is in trouble. The allegation
could be pivotal because Trump and Stone have been united in denying it,
not only in public statements, but also in legally binding assurances to
the government. Lying in public is legal. Lying to the government is a
crime. That is why this part of Cohen’s allegation poses such serious legal
risks to both Stone and Trump. Unfortunately for the White House, Cohen’s
account has extra corroboration, which provides more supporting evidence
than his other new claims that could be dismissed as a “he said/he said”
dispute."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
D-N.Y certainly aggressively went after the Trump nazi during questioning
of Cohen. Not bad for a rookie just getting started in what has turned
out to be a game of extreme hardball. Certainly, took no prisoners.
NBC News reports:

"If President Donald Trump’s
family and finances were some kind of red line, no one told Rep. Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. During the final hour of Wednesday’s hearing with
former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen, Ocasio-Cortez calmly pursued
a line of questioning that puts the Trump family and Trump organization
directly in the House Oversight Committee’s line of fire."

Exactly, where it belongs.
Certainly, complicit. Hat's off to the Congresswoman for executing
what no other interrogator did quite so well.

"The Republican committee
members used much of their time to launch transparent obstruction attempts
— or to obsess over whether Cohen wished to write a book. While such rhetorical
theatrics may impress Donald Trump, they will have little impact on the
committee’s investigative track. By refusing to engage on substance, Republicans
have, by default, conceded that many if not all of Cohen’s statements about
Trump’s conduct are indeed factual. In contrast, the Democrats seemed much
more prepared. In particular, Ocasio-Cortez’s line of questioning should
prove invaluable as the committee’s work continues. Because while Robert
Mueller’s investigation may be winding down, Congress is just getting started,
especially when it comes to the president’s financial integrity."

The rookie Congresswoman
came out firing. Has quite a future despite the socialism and a Democratic
Party that seems to have lost itself somewhere along the way.. Then
again, we already live in a national socialist, fascist, nazi police-state
quickly transitioning to the Trump nazi's Fourth Reich, -- courtesy
of the Republican Party.

"The freshman from the
Bronx asked Cohen if “the president ever provide inflated assets to an
insurance company.” Cohen’s one word response? “Yes.” She followed up by
asking: “Who else knows that the president did this?” Cohen shared the
names of three executives of the Trump organization: Allen Weisselberg,
Ron Lieberman and Matthew Calamari. Then Ocasio-Cortez pointedly asked
“where would the committee find more information on this; do you think
we need to review his financial statements and tax returns to compare them?”
Cohen’s response was again in the affirmative, adding that the information
she apparently sought should be at the offices of the Trump organization."

Ocasio-Cortez clearly
understands interrogation needs to be sharp, pointed, aggressive, extremely
probing, -- to be effective. Again, not bad for a rookie.

"Trump family's massive
tax con job has been hiding in plain sight for years. And it could cost
them millions. The exchange was brief, almost understated. And yet, Ocasio-Cortez
was able to elicit information from Cohen that will help doubtless the
committee as it continues down a legitimate investigative path towards
the president’s tax returns. The questions also opened the door to further
inquiries into whether or not the president engaged in insurance fraud.
The officials within the Trump organization named by Cohen are a new batch
of breadcrumbs for Democrats to follow."

Certainly, Ocasio-Cortez
was brilliant.

"Contrast this longterm
strategy with the tactics employed by Republicans on the panel. The conservative
representatives used the bulk of their time, not to challenge the substance
of Cohen’s testimony or the Democrats’ questions, but to insult and clumsily
attack
the witness."

Without question, appeared
to be the case. Republicans blew a chance to get at the truth they
clearly wished to avoid. -- At all costs. Called aggressive
stupidity. Certainly, not in their long term best interests to continue
to back a nazi fuhrer who appears to remain in increasing legal
jeopardy.

"Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La.,
used his time to ask Cohen about his documentary evidence, “where are those
boxes that contain documents worthy of evidence and why have they not been
turned over to investigative authorities?” Higgins went so far as to claim
a warrant should be issued to seize the boxes. The problem is, the authorities
seized these documents back when they initially arrested Cohen and have
since been returned to him. In other words, Higgins was calling for the
authorities to seize documents they had already seen and returned."

Called aggressive stupidity.

"Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.,
used her time to try and get Cohen to pledge under oath that he would never
pursue a book deal, political office, or a TV commentary gig. Never mind
that the last two Republican chairmen of the committee, Trey Gowdy and
Jason Chaffetz, have signed TV pundit deals with Fox News."

How about that.
Called hypocrisy.

Republicans remained asleep
at the wheel, -- slovenly, sloppily. Place partisanship ahead of
exposing truth. At best? Aggressive stupidity at its very worst.
Why? Truth is unquestionably in the best interests of any dying major
political party. Ultimately, always is. Provides final opportunity
for desperately needed change. Forget? Neither party is worth
a shit for diametrically opposed reasons backed by decades of conflict.
Into hardened positions. Both have clearly run their course.
Starve for gas. Status quo unsustainable.

"Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez’s
line of questioning will presumably give Democrats all the justification
they need to legitimately expand their investigation into the president’s
finances. The committee will doubtless want to conduct a forensic accounting
investigation into Trump’s financial statements and returns."

Wisely, follow the money
trail.

NPR reports:

"Michael Cohen, former
attorney and fixer for President Trump, has been talking to lawmakers about
his own wrongdoings and those he alleges Trump has committed. But he is
not the only Trump associate lawmakers probably want to interview. President
Trump's former personal lawyer named names when he testified before the
House oversight committee on Wednesday. He told the panel about Trump Organization
personnel with knowledge of what Cohen alleged are criminal or questionable
actions within the business. Cohen's knowledge about the inner workings
of the Trump Organization is expansive. The former lawyer, now disbarred
in the state of New York, once maintained an office close to Trump's in
New York City's Trump Tower. Now congressional Democrats are turning their
attention to other figures in the Trump Organization. Here are the names
you need to know:

"Felix Sater. Sater is
scheduled to testify before Congress on March 14. Sater is a real estate
developer and longtime Trump business associate who was involved in the
Trump Organization's efforts to build a Trump Tower project in Moscow.
He is scheduled to testify in an open hearing before the House intelligence
committee on March 14. Sater is notable for his previous connections to
organized crime and the work he also has reportedly done on behalf of the
U.S. government as an undercover informer.

"Allen Weisselberg. Trump
Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg (center) stands
behind then-President-elect Donald Trump and his son Don Jr. on Jan. 11,
2017, at Trump Tower in New York. The chief financial officer of the Trump
Organization has been a key player in all of Trump's business and other
dealings. Weisselberg and Donald Trump Jr., for example, signed one of
the checks repaying Cohen for the money Cohen paid adult film actress Stormy
Daniels to keep her quiet ahead of Election Day in 2016. Weisselberg is
so important to the investigations of Trump that prosecutors in Manhattan
have reportedly offered him immunity in order to get his cooperation with
their efforts. So it may be some time before the Justice Department could
authorize him to talk to Congress — but that isn't stopping lawmakers from
asking for him.

"David Pecker, Barry Levine
and Dylan Howard. Trump enlisted a number of people to help with his alleged
dirty work, including those who didn't directly work for him, Cohen said.
Trump's friend David Pecker, for example, CEO of American Media, Inc. (AMI)
which publishes the National Enquirer, would have AMI "catch and kill"
stories that might be embarrassing for Trump by paying people involved
for the exclusive rights to them — then never publish them.

"But there was evidently
a great deal more to the relationship between Trump and Pecker/AMI than
the McDougal case, Cohen said. Pecker's company worked many times to buy
embarrassing stories about Trump, even ones that weren't true, which enabled
AMI to compile a "treasure trove" of potentially damaging material. Cohen
was so interested in what AMI had accumulated that when Pecker was negotiating
to potentially take another important publishing job, Cohen wanted to buy
the Trump archive on behalf of his client to ensure it was kept safe. Who
else would know about the "treasure trove" and these practices? Former
National Enquirer editor Barry Levine would, he said, as well as a vice
president of AMI, Dylan Howard, Cohen responded.

"Ivanka Trump, Eric Trump
and Donald Trump Jr. Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, seen at President
Trump's January 2017 inauguration, were both briefed repeatedly on a potential
Trump Tower Moscow project, according to former lawyer Michael Cohen. The
president's three oldest children are among his top advisers and have been
a part of all the family's major business dealings, Cohen told lawmakers.
That includes the potential Trump Tower Moscow real estate project. Ivanka
Trump and her brother, Donald Trump Jr., both were briefed about it repeatedly,
Cohen said.

"Ron Lieberman and Matthew
Calamari. Matthew Calamari, an executive vice president with the Trump
Organization, is seen at Trump Tower in New York on Jan. 12, 2017. Lieberman
is an executive vice president in Trump's company who's responsible for
managing many of its subsidiary enterprises, according to his Bloomberg
bio. That includes modeling agencies, real estate and golf courses, and
it was in discussing these operations that his name came up in Cohen's
testimony, along with that that of chief operating officer Calamari."

All the above will likely
be figuratively under the gun in Congress. ... As the noose figuratively
tightens around the Trump nazi.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

House Democrats demand
documents from the Trump nazi and his henchmen. The Washington
Post reports:

"House Democrats sent
more than 80 letters Monday demanding documents from family members, business
associates, political confidants and others with connections to President
Trump, opening a sprawling investigation of whether he and his administration
have engaged in obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power."

About time. What
took so long?

"The farthest-reaching
request since Democrats took control of the House underscored lawmakers’
determination to hold Trump and those around him accountable for controversies
that have dogged the president during his first two years in office — and
perhaps lay the grounds for impeachment proceedings."

Would certainly tie up
Trump the rest of his term. Unlike "The Donald," his replacement
is not insane. Making him far more dangerous to life,
liberty, all civil and constitutional rights and liberties.

“We will act quickly to
gather this information, assess the evidence, and follow the facts where
they lead with full transparency with the American people,” House Judiciary
Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. “This is
a critical time for our nation, and we have a responsibility to investigate
these matters and hold hearings for the public to have all the facts. That
is exactly what we intend to do.”

Again, what took so long?

"But the sweeping document
requests also raised immediate questions about House Democrats’ strategy
for probing the administration. The inquiries touched on everything from
the president’s business dealings with Russia to multiple controversies
regarding the firing of former FBI director James B. Comey and hush payments
made to women. Many of those very issues are already being looked at by
special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and prosecutors in the Southern District
of New York — not to mention other committees in the House. House
Democrats also appear to be grappling with a question of whether to focus
their energy on Trump’s actions as president, or probe alleged past misdeeds
before he ran for office, too. Judiciary Committee staff argue there is
a constitutional question about whether the party can hold the president
accountable for any illicit or morally questionable activities Trump may
have committed before he became president."

Expose it all to the light
of day. The public has a right to know.

"While extremely broad,
Nadler’s inquiry focuses on abuse of power, public corruption and obstruction
of justice since Trump became president, though some of the inquiries also
deal with the campaign and the presidential transition."

All of it remains fair
game. No matter the party.

"At an event at the White
House later Monday with the North Dakota State championship football team,
Trump was asked if he plans to cooperate. “I cooperate all the time with
everybody,” he said, adding: “You know the beautiful thing — no collusion.
It’s all a hoax.”

Think so?

"Those receiving letters
from the House Judiciary Committee include the president’s two eldest sons,
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump; his son-in-law, Jared Kushner; his former
personal secretary Rhona Graff; Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial
officer of the Trump Organization; and former top White House aides Hope
Hicks, Sean Spicer and Stephen K. Bannon."

Sounds like a good start,
doesn't it?

Better yet, the following:

"Other demands for documents
are directed to institutions including the White House, the Justice Department,
the Trump campaign, the Trump transition team and the Trump Organization."

Bet there won't be considerable
stonewalling?

"In a statement Monday,
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders acknowledged receipt of Nadler’s
letter and said officials “will review it and respond at the appropriate
time.” She did not comment further. Recipients have two weeks to comply
with the requests. Should they not do so, the Judiciary Committee will
subpoena the documents, panel staff members told reporters on a call Monday
morning. "

No further waste of time.
Go for it. Cut the shit.

"Trump and Republicans
have pushed back, arguing that Democrats are on a fishing expedition designed
to undermine the president and cripple his reelection effort ahead of 2020.
During a two-hour, campaign-style speech at the Conservative Political
Action Conference on Saturday, Trump mocked Democrats for the scope of
their investigations. “[T]hey don’t have anything with Russia. There's
no collusion,” Trump said. “So now they go and morph into, ‘Let's inspect
every deal he's ever done. We're going to go into his finances. We're going
to check his deals.’ …. These people are sick. They’re sick… Where did
that come from?"

Aren't you talking
about yourself, Mr. 'President?'

"The committee also said
Monday’s tranche of requests would not be the last, suggesting investigations
by House Democrats could become broader still with time. The panel says
it will seek not only Mueller’s final report but also documents used in
the grand jury. Nadler’s request is significant not only because he is
seeking an expansive amount of material but because his committee has jurisdiction
over impeachment. Any hearings exploring whether Trump committed “high
crimes and misdemeanors” would take place before the panel."

Be careful what you wish
for. Forget? Pence is far more dangerous since he's not insane.

"The panel is seeking
communications between former White House counsel Donald McGahn and the
president relating to Michael T. Flynn, Trump’s fired national security
adviser, as well as Flynn’s statements to the FBI about contacts with Sergey
Kislyak, then Russia’s ambassador to Washington. Nadler is also seeking
to learn about communications regarding Trump’s firing of Comey as FBI
director, as well as what occurred at a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower
in New York. That meeting included Trump Jr., Kushner, then-campaign manager
Paul Manafort and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who had “dirt”
to offer about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, according
to an email that was made public. Nadler has also asked American Media
Inc. and its chief executive, David Pecker, a longtime Trump ally, about
hush payments or “any payment” that Michael Cohen, then Trump’s personal
lawyer, made to assist Trump during the campaign."

All valid unanswered questions
the last two and a half years or so.

"The documents Nadler
requested are a first step in the committee’s effort to explore possible
obstruction of justice by the president in connection with Mueller’s investigation
of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign and whether Trump or anyone
close to him coordinated with the Russians during the campaign."

Valid concern despite
Trump's denials.

"The committee staff coordinated
the document request with Mueller’s office, federal prosecutors in Manhattan
(SDNY) and other committees conducting their own investigations, a House
counsel said. Committee counsel said the chairman is requesting materials
that in many cases already have been furnished to Mueller or federal prosecutors
in Manhattan or to other congressional panels. Many of the recipients’
lawyers have already been contacted and are expected to provide the materials,
the counsel said."

Get a move on. Quicker
the better.

"Though the document demands
are sweeping and appear to track over Mueller’s probe, a committee counsel
said the panel’s jurisdiction squarely covers obstruction of justice and
abuse of power issues. The House Intelligence panel, by contrast, is investigating
Russian interference and counterintelligence matters, the counsel noted.
But there inevitably will be some overlap. And Judiciary will share documents
it receives with other committees, the counsel said."

Anything that facilitates
and/or expedites the process is a good thing.

"Aides said the panel
is exploring two other broad issues: public corruption and abuse of power.
The investigation of public corruption includes potential violations of
the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits presidents from
accepting gifts from foreign states, as well as possible campaign finance
violations. Potential abuses of power include attacks on the news media
and the judiciary, and the use of presidential pardon power, Judiciary
Committee aides said. Nadler’s requests come as House Democrats are ramping
up numerous investigations of the president, their first steps in a months-long
effort that could lead to impeachment proceedings."

No president in his right
mind would so blatantly, wantonly abuse power. A sane Chief Executive
would do all in his or her power to make it far less obvious. In
comparison to Trump, Richard Nixon looks like a choir boy.

"The House Oversight and
Reform Committee received testimony from Cohen last Wednesday in a high-profile
hearing where the president’s former lawyer accused Trump of lying to the
public about his business interests in Russia, his role in silencing women
who alleged sexual encounters during the 2016 campaign and his knowledge
of WikiLeaks’s hacked material that was damaging to Clinton."

Got to give Cohen credit
for doing what he could to right the wrong he was engaged in all those
years under the Trump nazi.

"The oversight panel also
has given the White House until Monday to respond to document requests
surrounding its clearance process, some of which panel Democrats have been
seeking for months."

Why waste any more time?
The bastards are clearly stonewalling.

"The latest letter — what
House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) warned was
his “final” request for voluntary compliance — followed news that Trump
had personally instructed his then-Chief of Staff John Kelly to give Kushner
a security clearance. At the same time, the House Ways and Means Committee
has created a framework for requesting Trump’s tax returns. Although the
tax panel has not asked for the documents yet, lawyers for the committee
have instructed other panels to help make the case to the public about
why the forms are essential to investigating the president."

Why shouldn't the nazi
incumbent release his tax documents? All his predecessors in recent
history have done so.

"Nadler’s letter to the
Justice Department seeks a wide variety of documents that go to the heart
of Mueller’s work, even as senior department officials have publicly and
privately expressed a reluctance to share those kinds of investigative
documents."

Congress is entitled to
this material. Remains constitutionally responsible for investigating
the president, then impeaching him if warranted.

"The list, which asks
for materials concerning possible obstruction of justice by the president,
or possible conspiracy between Trump associates and Russian officials,
marks the opening salvo of what some expect to be a fight between Congress
and the Justice Department over Mueller’s files."

Congress is entitled to
this material. So are the American people. Forget? Government
works for the people, -- not the other way around.

"Nadler’s requests include
information about some well-known episodes, but also cover some incidents
that have received relatively little attention, such as an effort in 2016
by Peter Smith, a now-deceased Chicago-based Republican fundraiser, to
reach out to Russian hackers to get copies of Clinton’s deleted emails.
It sent a request to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living
in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London under a grant of asylum, seeking information
relating to its alleged receipt of hacked Democratic emails from the Russian
government as well as any contacts with members of the Trump campaign or
Trump Organization during the 2016 campaign."

A valid concern, -- especially
in light of the following:

"Cohen alleged last week
that in July 2016, he overheard a phone call between Trump and longtime
adviser Roger Stone in which Stone said he had just spoken to Assange,
who within “a couple of days” would release “a massive dump of emails that
would damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.” Stone has repeatedly denied that
he conspired with WikiLeaks."

The battle is on.
CBS News reports:

"The White House Counsel's
Office is refusing to release documents requested by the House Committee
on Oversight and Reform related to its issuance of security clearances,
teeing up a potential subpoena battle between Capitol Hill and 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue."

Get a move on. Too
much time has been wasted already.

"In a letter addressed
to Chairman Elijah Cummings on Monday, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone
said the White House will not provide "unilateral concessions without any
offer of accommodation" by the committee. Cummings launched an investigation
into the White House's process for granting security clearances in January,
including the circumstances surrounding Trump son-in-law and senior adviser
Jared Kushner's clearance. "We will not concede the Executive's constitutional
prerogatives or allow the Committee to jeopardize the individual privacy
rights of current and former Executive Branch employees," Cipollone wrote
in Mondays' letter. Cipollone said an offer to brief the committee on the
clearance process and allow them to review certain documents still stands."

Not good enough.
Not at all. Called stonewalling.

"Cummings wrote to Cipollone
on March 1 demanding the White House provide documents and make witnesses
available following a New York Times report that Mr. Trump had overruled
White House officials and ordered Kushner be given a top-secret clearance.
In a statement Tuesday, Cummings strongly disagreed with Cipollone's assessment
and said he will consult with committee members on what to do next. "The
White House appears to be arguing that Congress has no authority to examine
decisions by the Executive Branch that impact our national security — even
when the President's former national security adviser has pleaded guilty
to lying about his contacts with foreign government officials," Cummings
said. "There is a key difference between a president who exercises his
authority under the Constitution and a president who overrules career experts
and his top advisors to benefit his family members and then conceals his
actions from the American people."

No question. Subpoena
the bastard.

"When reporters asked
Mr. Trump about the security clearance investigation on Tuesday afternoon,
the president decried the growing list of congressional investigations
as a "witch hunt." The White House response on the security clearance investigation
comes as the House Judiciary Committee sent letters to 81 individuals and
entities seeking documents for its own probe. "The witch hunt continues,"
Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House Tuesday. "The fact is that
I guess we got 81 letters. There was no collusion. That was a hoax. There
was no anything. And they want to do that instead of getting legislation
passed. Eighty-one people or organization got letters. It's a disgrace.
It's a disgrace to our country. I'm not surprised they're doing it. Basically
they've started the campaign. So the campaign begins. But the campaign
— their campaign's actually been going on for the last two and a half years.
So it's a shame and the people understand it. When they look at it, they
just say presidential harassment. But that's OK."

You're the disgrace Mr.
'President.' You.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Trump and his henchmen
continue to shamelessly load the judiciary with Republican national socialists,
fascists, nazis who have no respect, no regard for life, liberty, all civil
and constitutional rights and liberties. The Washington Post
reports:

"Seattle attorney Eric
Miller was confirmed as a judge on the country’s most liberal appeals court
this week without the consent of either home-state senator, abreak from
tradition that Democrats say Republicans will come to regret. Historically,
senators from the state where a federal judiciary nominee lives may submit
opinions, known as “blue slips,” or choose not to return them. Before this
week, a nominee had never been confirmed without the support of at least
one home-state senator, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), the ranking Democrat
on the judiciary committee, said in a statement on Wednesday. But neither
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) nor Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) returned
blue slips on Miller’s nomination to serve on the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals."

For damn good reason.
This national socialist, fascist son of a bitch will legislate his outrageously
perverse ideological and religious views from the bench.

"Nonetheless, Miller was
confirmed Tuesday on a 53-46 vote, allowing Trump to continue to move toward
a more conservative federal judiciary, one of his key campaign promises.
The vote to confirm Miller’s lifetime appointment followed a brief hearing,
which took place during a congressional recess and with only two Republican
senators present."

Imagine that. Raw
nazism.

"Murray called the confirmation
“a dangerous first.” “Abandoning the blue slip process and instead, bending
to the will of a president who has demonstrated time and time again his
ignorance and disdain for the Constitution and the rule of law is a mistake,”
she said on the Senate floor. Cantwell similarly called the decision “a
damaging precedent” and, among other things, opposed Miller’s opposition
to Native American interests and sovereignty."

Jesus Christ. When
are you gutless Democrats finally going to do something about this abomination
other than engage in meaningless rhetoric? Impeach the goddamned
nazi. While he'd never be convicted and removed from office in the
Senate, would certainly tie him and his henchmen up for most of the remainder
of his term.

"In July, Oregonian Ryan
Bound’s nomination to the 9th Circuit proved equally controversial. Neither
of his home-state senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats,
returned a slip in support of the Oregon assistant United States attorney.
The White House ultimately withdrew the nomination after Bounds, 45, faced
widespread criticism over failing to tell the judicial review committee
about articles he wrote in the Stanford Review where he ridiculed multiculturalism,
The Post’s Karoun Demirjian reported."

Democrats are certainly
not doing all they can to effectively confront the nazi in the Oval Office.
Will certainly live to regret it as our formerly great country continues
to deteriorate as fascism continues to overtake what remains a democratic
republic in name only.

"Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pledged to transform the judiciary and praised
Trump for successfully pushing a record-breaking number of federal judges
through the Senate. “Confirmation is a political decision based on who
controls the Senate,” McConnell told hundreds of conservative and libertarian
attorneys at a November Federalist Society gathering. “My goal is to confirm
as many circuit judges as possible."

"In a statement to The
Washington Post on Wednesday, Feinstein said: “It is regrettable and likely
will result in more ideological nominees who don’t reflect the values of
their home states. It’s hard to not see this action coming back to bite
Republicans when they’re no longer in power in the Senate.”

Delusionally believe Democrats
won't do the same? They will eventually retake the Senate.
When that happens, think these bastards won't do all they can to load the
judiciary with judges who oppose the Second Amendment? Wake up.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Trump and his henchmen
continue to take a raucous hard dump on the environment. The Washington
Post reports:

"The Senate on Thursday
approved former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to head the Environmental
Protection Agency by a vote of 52 to 47, elevating a veteran of Washington
political and industry circles who has advanced President Trump’s push
to rollback Obama-era environmental regulations."

In favor of the corporate
management suite, at expense of the environment. The Republican national
socialist way.

"Wheeler, who began his
career at EPA during the 1990s but spent years on Capitol Hill before heading
to the private sector, has won praise from Republicans for his deregulatory
agenda but criticism from Democrats for his refusal to take action on climate
change and several public health priorities. He has been running the agency
since Trump’s first administrator, Scott Pruitt, stepped down in July amid
multiple scandals surrounding his management and spending practices. Trump
said in November that he intended to nominate Wheeler for the top job,
saying he had done a “fantastic job” in his interim role."

Lining the pockets of
the corporate management suite at expense of the environment. Raw
nazism.

"At his confirmation hearing
in January, Wheeler highlighted dozens of significant rules that the EPA
has begun to roll back during the past two years, and he made clear to
lawmakers that he intended to continue the Trump administration’s reversal
of environmental regulations."

At expense of the environment.
To line the pockets of the corporate management suite and the rest at the
top of the food chain. Unadulterated greed.

“Through our deregulatory
actions, the Trump administration has proven that burdensome federal regulations
are not necessary to drive environmental progress,” Wheeler said at the
time."

Absolute horse shit.
Simply untrue. Blatant lie. Deceit. A ruse. Courtesy
of a charlatan. All to line the pockets at the top of the food chain.

“Certainty, and the innovation
that thrives in a climate of certainty, are key to progress.”

Raw unabashed, unabridged
nazism. Meaningless double talk.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Surprisingly, a national
socialist, fascist, nazi Republican U.S. Supreme Court recently reinforced
the First Amendment Separation of Church and State. Imagine that.
Couldn't be could it? NPR reports:

"The U.S. Supreme Court
let a ruling stand Monday from the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that
said Morris County, N.J., may not give taxpayer funds to help preserve
religious buildings, such as synagogues, temples, churches and mosques.
The county has a program for giving preservation funds for all local buildings.
But New Jersey law, as recently interpreted by the state Supreme Court,
prohibits counties from awarding grants to preserve religious buildings.
Those representing the religious institutions argued the state Supreme
Court ruling amounted to unconstitutional discrimination against religion.
But the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear this particular case, though
indicated it should take this kind of case and the facts seemed murky in
this one. Conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel
Alito dissented."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Think the Trump nazi and
his henchmen are not determinedly, concertedly, deliberately increasing
tensions in the Middle East? NPR reports:

"When the United States
closes its Jerusalem Consulate on Monday, it will not only be winding down
a 175-year diplomatic mission. The move also represents another major downgrade
of the Trump administration's relations with the Palestinians. The Consulate
General in Jerusalem is the U.S. government's de facto representative office
to the Palestinian Authority. The diplomatic mission, first established
in 1844 and housed in a historical stone estate in downtown Jerusalem,
will be downgraded to a Palestinian Affairs Unit and will merge with the
new U.S. Embassy to Israel. Consul General Karen Sasahara, who has served
as an unofficial ambassador to the Palestinians, is leaving Jerusalem and
won't be replaced. A lower-ranking foreign service officer will head the
new unit. U.S Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, a longtime supporter
of Israel's West Bank settler movement whom Palestinians see as their ideological
opponent, will oversee diplomatic relations with the Palestinians and Israelis
both. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the move, which he announced
in October, will "improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations."
Palestinian officials view it as a hostile move."

It is, indeed, precisely
that.

"The U.S. administration
had a choice to build constructive relations with the Palestinian people
and leadership. Instead, it chose bullying and arrogance," Palestinian
Foreign Minister Riad Maliki said in a statement."

Exactly, right.
An aggressively stupid move by the Trump nazi and his henchmen. Guaranties
there will be no peace any time soon in the region.

"A U.S. official told
NPR that at least one dissent cable opposing the consulate closure had
been sent to senior officials in Washington. The official was unauthorized
to speak to the media about the internal diplomatic matter, and spoke on
condition of anonymity. State Department officers use the practice of sending
dissent cables in rare cases to discreetly protest major policy decisions.
Since the mid-1990s, the Consulate General has served as the U.S. diplomatic
mission dealing directly with the Palestinian leadership, while the embassy
has worked closely with Israel. U.S. officials viewed the dynamic as providing
diplomatic symmetry amid Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. "Historically
the position of Washington has been, the two should not be merged," said
Ed Abington, a former U.S. consul general in Jerusalem. "Now they're merged.
The effect on our ability to deal with the Palestinians is being greatly
damaged."

Intentionally, by the
Trump nazi and his equally clueless henchmen. Sadly, tragically,
the U.S. will grow to regret this. Will only exacerbate an impossible
situation made worse by the jackass in the Oval Office.

"The mission merger is
the latest contentious U.S. step regarding the Palestinians. Last year,
the U.S. moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, endorsing Israel's
claims to the city but enraging Palestinians who also have claims there
and drawing international criticism. Palestinian authorities cut off ties
with U.S. officials in protest. Then the U.S. closed the Palestinians'
diplomatic office in Washington and cut hundreds of millions of dollars
in humanitarian and development aid for Palestinians. Lara Friedman, a
former U.S. foreign service officer in Jerusalem and president of the Foundation
for Middle East Peace, called the consulate closure "a massive shift" in
U.S. policy. "At this point we are saying to the Palestinians and the world
— we do not see the Palestinians as a people to engage directly. They are
now a minority and a subset to our relationship with Israel," said Friedman,
who is not related to the ambassador."

Outrageous. Particularly
so, since the Palestinians were NOT consulted when Europe, the United States,
and the United Nations chose to bequeath Palestine to survivors of the
Holocaust in 1948. Triggering war after war in the region, birth
of modern terrorism.

"Israel's Foreign Ministry
declined to comment on the consulate closure. But Zalman Shoval, a former
Israeli ambassador to the U.S., called it positive. "I would have no objections
for the U.S. to have a consulate in Ramallah, for instance, for the Palestinians,"
Shoval said, referring to the West Bank city where the Palestinian Authority
is headquartered. "But to have a separate consulate in another part of
Jerusalem creates a certain fact of splitting Jerusalem into two parts,
something which Israel is opposed to."

Tough shit. It is
Palestinian territory the Israelites lost generations ago due to their
excesses.

"Scott Lasensky, former
adviser to the U.S. ambassador to Israel under the Obama administration,
said there were "gross inefficiencies and convoluted lines of authority"
with the consulate general and embassy working separately. But he added
that the merger "will be widely perceived as a dismantling of previous
U.S. policies that positioned Washington as the lead peace broker and advocate
for a two-state solution."

The United States has
never, in effect, been a peace broker in the region. Never.
A ruse.

Get this:

"The consulate closure
is subject to a congressional review period, according to U.S. officials,
but it is unclear if any Congress members registered any formal objections
to the mission merger. House Foreign Affairs Committee staffers did not
return NPR's requests for comment. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy's office
said he objected to the move, but his office was not aware of any congressional
review process. "It downgrades our diplomatic posture with the Palestinians
at a time when the Trump administration is cutting aid and tightening the
screws on the Palestinians, and restricting our engagement with them, apparently
believing they can be pressured into supporting the White House's yet to
be revealed Middle East peace plan. To the contrary, it has only increased
the Palestinians' desperation and distrust, widened the gap between us
and them, further damaged our credibility as a mediator, and made the prospects
for peace more elusive," Leahy's office said in a statement to NPR."

Guaranties increased terrorism.
Aggressive stupidity at its very worst. Then again, what else can
be expected from our nazi fuhrer in the Oval Office and his equally
clueless fascist henchmen?

"White House adviser Jared
Kushner says the administration will present its still-secret Israeli-Palestinian
peace plan after Israeli elections in April."

How the hell is this achingly
biased, outrageously fascist Trump family member qualified to force any
peace plan on the Palestinians? How? The son of a bitch
is part of the problem. Not the solution.

"Aaron David Miller, a
former U.S. Mideast negotiator, said the consulate-embassy merger offers
a clue about how the Trump administration approaches the question of creating
a Palestinian state alongside Israel, which was longtime U.S. policy. "The
administration seems to view Israel-Palestine as more or less one and the
same," Miller said, "and that they're thinking not of a two-state solution
but something along the lines of a Palestinian state-minus."

Delusionally short-sighted.
Guaranties there will be, cannot be, peace in the Middle East. Certainly,
no time soon. Indeed, a step backwards. Aggressive stupidity
at its very worst.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Netanyahu may finally
be getting his. The Washington Post reports:

"As Israelis digested
the charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust leveled against Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the question on the minds of many Friday was
whether it may spell the beginning of the end for Israel’s long-serving
leader. Polls have indicated that although Netanyahu will be hurt by Attorney
General Avichai Mandelblit’s decision to indict him, pending a hearing
in which he can present his defense, the prime minister still has a fighting
chance of being reelected on April 9, when the country votes in legislative
elections. However, calls for him to stand down have sharpened. Netanyahu
has shown no sign of being prepared to do so voluntarily."

Sounds like the Trump
nazi, doesn't it? LOL.

"In a televised speech
Thursday evening, after news of Mandelblit’s decision emerged, Netanyahu
made an embattled vow to “continue serving you and the state for many years.”

"He told the public not
to let a “witch hunt” by bureaucrats, commentators and reporters cause
confusion and promised that the “house of cards” built around three corruption
cases against him would soon come tumbling down."

Sound familiar?
Where have we heard this before? Where?

“Do not believe the spin,”
he said. “I intend to serve you for many years. It all depends on you and
not on the officials or the TV studios.”

"For Netanyahu, now that
Mandelblit's letter outlining the charges against him has been sent to
his legal team, a date will be set for a hearing so the accused can rebut
the allegations. Netanyahu's lawyers told Israeli networks Thursday that
they have witnesses and documents that would prove his innocence in all
three criminal cases. In a televised speech following Netanyahu’s address
on Thursday night, main political challenger Benny Gantz said it was impossible
for Netanyahu to continue to govern. The former army chief of staff, whose
newly formed Blue and White Party is polling neck and neck with Netanyahu’s
ruling Likud faction, called on him to step down. “Benjamin Netanyahu,
I turn to you this evening — wake up, think about the national responsibility
and resign,” said Gantz. “If and when you prove your innocence, you can
return to the public arena with your head held high.”

Think Trump, should he
lose the election, would voluntarily leave office?

“This is a sad day for
the State of Israel,” said Yair Lapid, who merged his Yesh Atid (There
is a Future) party with Gantz’s last week. “Netanyahu cannot continue to
serve as prime minister. He knows that. He knows that better than anyone.”
Indeed, when he was leader of the opposition and his rival Olmert was indicted,
Netanyahu argued that the prime minister should step aside because he would
be too distracted by the legal case to govern."

Same kind of contradictory,
achingly hypocritical double talk we constantly hear from the Trump nazi.
... Partners in crime, -- so to speak? LOL.

Report goes on and on
in great detail. Be interesting to see how the Israelis resolve this.
To say nothing of how we, as Americans, resolve the Trump nazi catastrophe.
What webs we weave.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Think the following can't,
won't happen in our formerly great country? Should Republican national
socialists, fascists, bona fide nazis ultimately be successful? That
is, in their outrageously perverse attempt to dictate what someone can
and cannot do with HER uterus? Wake up. The Washington
Post reports:

"An 11-year-old rape victim
gave birth in Argentina on Tuesday after she was apparently denied an abortion
by authorities, infuriating women’s rights advocates in the country who
have fought to legalize the procedure. The girl, referred to as “Lucia”
to protect her identity, underwent a Caesarean section Tuesday in the 23rd
week of her pregnancy, the Guardian reports. Lucia, whose baby is not expected
to survive, had previously begged officials to “remove what the old man
put inside me.”

Wake up.
Gets worse:

"That man is the 65-year-old
partner of Lucia’s grandmother — who took custody of Lucia and her siblings
in 2015, after her two older sisters were reportedly abused by their mother’s
partner, the Guardian reported. Lucia attempted to commit suicide twice
upon learning of her pregnancy Jan. 23. She was hospitalized and later
placed in state care as a result of apparent self-inflicted lesions, the
outlet said."

This, what you goddamned
Republican nazis want here? Where are the Democrats? Why are
they allowing these fascist bastards to eviscerate abortion rights?
Freedom? What's that? 'Liberty' to do what you're told?
What the nazi element in our formerly great country dictates?

"The birth of Lucia’s
child Tuesday was widely condemned by women’s rights activists in the country,
who say Lucia and her mother repeatedly asked for her to have an abortion
— a request that was delayed by nearly five weeks, according to the BBC.
Debate over who the girl’s guardian was complicated the planned abortion,
and several doctors refused to perform the procedure because of their personal
beliefs, the outlet said."

Why haven't their licenses
to practice medicine been revoked? A license to practice medicine
is not a right. It's a privilege. Can't provide a desperately
needed medical procedure? Then, get the hell out of the profession.
You have no business being there.

"As The Washington Post
has reported, Argentine law allows abortion in instances of rape, when
the mother is mentally disabled or if there is a serious risk to her health.
In any other instance, a woman could be imprisoned for up to four years
for undergoing the procedure."

Raw nazism. Are
you Republican national socialists, fascists, nazis aware abortion was
illegal in both Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy?

"In Lucia’s case, officials
ordered a hospital director to “continue with procedures necessary to attempt
to save both lives” — a mantra also used by antiabortion advocates — citing
a decision made by a family judge, according to the BBC. That court has
since indicated it gave no instruction to save two lives. Moreover, the
Guardian reports, a doctor warned in court that Lucia faced “high obstetric
risk” if her pregnancy was allowed to continue."

NOT YOUR UTERUS.
Belongs to her. Who the hell are you fascist bastards to dictate
to her what she can and cannot do with HER uterus?

"A doctor who performed
the procedure said she managed to save Lucia’s life after the girl had
been “tortured for a month by the provincial health system.” “For electoral
reasons they [the authorities] prevented the legal interruption of the
pregnancy and forced the little girl to give birth,” Cecilia Ousset told
reporters, according to the Guardian. “My legs trembled when I saw her,
it was like seeing my younger daughter. The little girl didn’t understand
completely what was going to happen.” Women’s rights advocates agreed with
Ousset’s assertion that Juan Manzur, governor of Tucuman, used Lucia to
push his political agenda. Journalist and self-described feminist activist
Mariana Carbajal wrote in a tweet that Tucuman had treated Lucia “like
a receptacle, like an incubator,” according to the Guardian."

Precisely, what Republican
nazis are attempting to impose right here, right now, in our formerly great
country. If there is no reproductive freedom, there is no freedom
at all. Reproductive freedom is far more than a woman keeping her
panties up, legs crossed; a man keeping it in his pants.

"Soledad Deza, of the
Women for Women Association, reminded news outlets that Lucia’s abortion
would have been legal, considering health risks and the fact she was sexually
abused, the Guardian reports. She likened the girl’s experience to “the
worst type of cruelty.”

What it is is raw nazism.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Another sad day in our
formerly great country. Particularly so, since it appears an owner
of an NFL franchise may have inadvertently supported human trafficking.
NBC News reports:

"New England Patriots
owner Robert Kraft has pleaded not guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution
at a Florida massage parlor, court documents show. Kraft, 77, was charged
earlier this week with two counts of soliciting a prostitute in connection
with his allegedly paying the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida,
for a sex act on two separate occasions in January, prosecutors said. He
pleaded not guilty to the charges in state Circuit Court in Palm Beach
County, Florida, a court filing shows. His attorney, Jack Goldberger, requested
a nonjury trial for the billionaire, the court document shows."

Fascinating, isn't it?
What are his plans? Buy the judge?

"Kraft was arrested Friday
on the accusation that he paid for a sex act at the spa once on Jan. 19
and again on the morning of the 20th, hours before the Patriots won the
AFC Championship that sent them to the Super Bowl, according to court documents.
Investigators allege Kraft was seen on surveillance video with a spa worker
on both days. The powerful NFL team owner was one of at least 25 people
arrested on allegations of soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia
Day Spa, one of several spas investigated by authorities in a monthslong
human-trafficking probe, police said."

Has been alleged
the workers at this spa are victims of human trafficking. No more
than sex slaves.

"Kraft is not alleged
to be involved in human trafficking, and he has denied engaging in illegal
activity. "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal
activity," a spokesperson for Kraft said in a statement Friday. "Because
it is a judicial matter, we will not be commenting further."

Police claim they have
video.

"The NFL said in a statement
Monday that owners as well as players are subject to the league's personal
conduct policy. "We will handle this allegation in the same way we would
handle any issue under the policy. We are seeking a full understanding
of the facts, while ensuring that we do not interfere with an ongoing law
enforcement investigation," the statement read. "We will take appropriate
action as warranted based on the facts." Kraft faces up to one year in
prison if convicted on the charges, as well as a $5,000 fine, 100 hours
of community service and mandatory attendance at a class on the dangers
of prostitution and human trafficking. Kraft is scheduled to be arraigned
on March 27."

If you're indeed a horny,
elderly billionaire, why reportedly try to do it on the cheap? Courtesy
of what appears to be slave labor?

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Think the following isn't
criminal? NBC News reports:

"The former head of sales
for an opioid manufacturer took the stand in federal court here Friday
to describe how he followed directions to recruit and bribe doctors for
years to increase sales of the company's highly addictive drug. The testimony
of Alec Burlakoff, the former vice president of sales for Insys Therapeutics,
closed the fifth week of a trial of five former company executives. The
group was charged with multiple conspiracies in October 2017, including
racketeering, kickbacks and fraud, along with two other former executives
who pleaded guilty and have become cooperating witnesses. The first cooperating
witness, former CEO Michael Babich, testified last month. Burlakoff is
the second. Their testimony against their former colleagues is part of
a mountain of evidence prosecutors are bringing to build a groundbreaking
case to hold pharmaceutical executives accountable. It is the first federal
trial involving executives of an opioid manufacturing company, according
to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts, which is prosecuting the
case. Expected to last around three months, the first five weeks have already
included a series of revelations about the company's conduct. The former
executives, including founder and former billionaire John Kapoor, were
accused of defrauding insurance companies and bribing doctors to prescribe
a highly addictive fentanyl-based pain drug when it wasn't needed."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

Voter suppression.
NPR reports:

"A federal judge in Texas
ruled that state officials "created a mess" when they questioned the citizenship
of about 98,000 voters and mistakenly concluded that many of those voters
were not eligible to cast ballots. The sharply written ruling by U.S. District
Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio ordered Texas officials to halt the removal
of any registered voter from state voter rolls. "The evidence has shown
in a hearing before this Court that there is no widespread voter fraud,"
Biery wrote. In late January, Texas Secretary of State David Whitley issued
an "advisory on voter registration list maintenance activity." He claimed
that nearly 95,000 noncitizens were registered to vote and said that about
58,000 had voted in one or more Texas elections. Whitley also said going
forward his office would cross-reference data from the state Department
of Public Safety and voter registration rolls. If a noncitizen is discovered,
local county officials will be notified. He also said that the suspect
voters would be contacted and told that their registration status was under
review."

There was strong opposition:

"Whitley's action was
met with immediate opposition. Civil rights groups said the list was largely
made up of naturalized citizens who had applied for driver's licenses or
state IDs when they were still legal permanent residents. As Ashley Lopez
of member station KUT in Austin reported, state officials were forced to
step back from their claim of possible fraud. In a hearing Monday, Keith
Ingram, director of elections in the Texas Secretary of State's Office
testified that more than 25,000 people on the list are in fact citizens.
In his ruling, Judge Biery said that the search for illegal voters "appears
to be a solution looking for a problem." "Notwithstanding good intentions,
the road to a solution was inherently paved with flawed results, meaning
perfectly legal naturalized Americans were burdened with what the Court
finds to be ham-handed and threatening correspondence from the state which
did not politely ask for information but rather exemplifies the power of
government to strike fear and anxiety and to intimidate the least powerful
among us," the judge wrote."

Our national socialist,
fascist, nazi Attorney General would have none of it:

"Texas Attorney General
Ken Paxton, in a statement, said the federal judge was "improperly assuming
control" over the state's voting system. "While we appreciate the court's
acknowledgment that the Secretary of State took his actions in good faith,
no state official violated any applicable law and there is no need for
a federal court takeover of state activities," Paxton wrote. "We are weighing
our options to address this ruling and to continue making our case that
ineligible voters should not vote and counties are free to continue to
follow the law and keep their voter rolls clean."

Wake up, Mr. Paxton.
You continue to disgrace yourself and the state you supposedly serve.
What ever happened to those charges pending on you, sir?

"Biery ruled that Texas
county election officials may still investigate whether a registered voter
is not a citizen, but they may not contact them directly through notices.
Civil rights groups applauded the ruling. "Today's court order plainly
indicates that the state of Texas must clean up its act," said Thomas Saenz,
president and general counsel of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund in a statement. "Over-the-top pronouncements of widespread
voter fraud without a shred of evidence only serve to broadly deter voter
participation. Sending ominous letters to intimidate individual voters
based on information known to be incomplete and faulty directly threatens
democracy."

Indeed.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

"Insurers for Wells Fargo
CEO Tim Sloan, former chief executive John Stumpf and 18 others will fork
over $240 million to shareholders over the scandal involving the creation
of millions of phony accounts."

Why the f--k aren't
these thieves in prison?

"Subject to court approval,
the settlement resolves suits accusing current and former directors and
officers of breaching their fiduciary duty for "their alleged failure to
detect and prevent sales practices issues," Wells Fargo stated in a regulatory
filing on Wednesday. The officials denied wrongdoing. Lawyers for shareholders
who sued on behalf of the bank called the agreement the largest insurer-funded
cash settlement in a U.S. shareholder derivative lawsuit, according to
Reuters. The accord is higher than the $139 million paid by News Corp.
in 2013 over how it dealt with a phone hacking scandal in Britain, the
wire service noted."

"The San Francisco bank
has been plagued by investigations into its sales practices since Wells
in September 2016 agreed to pay nearly $200 million to settle government
claims it defrauded millions of consumers by creating accounts in their
names without their knowledge. The public outcry over the bank's handling
of the scandal paved Stumpf's exit. Wells then faced subsequent bad press
as other consumer abuses emerged dealing with its mortgage lending and
auto insurance businesses. A Wells Fargo spokesperson said the bank would
have no further comment beyond its filing, which stated the bank might
face up to $2.7 billion more than anticipated as of Dec. 31 to settle legal
issues."

A criminal culture.
... Right, Amanda?

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-8-19

States suing Trump over
abortion rule. CBS News reports:

"California and 20 other
Democratic-led states announced they were challenging the Trump administration's
effort to set up obstacles for women seeking abortions, including barring
taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from referring patients to abortion
providers. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday that
the state filed its own federal lawsuit in San Francisco that aims to block
a new family planning rule from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
Opponents of the rule say it would shift millions of dollars from Planned
Parenthood to faith-based family planning organizations. Twenty states
and Washington, D.C., said they would sue separately Tuesday. The states
are: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. Washington's
Democratic attorney general also previously said the state would challenge
the rule."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

"2011, days after Donald
Trump challenged President Barack Obama to “show his records” to prove
that he hadn’t been a “terrible student,” the headmaster at New York Military
Academy got an order from his boss: Find Trump’s academic records and help
bury them. The superintendent of the private school “came to me in a panic
because he had been accosted by prominent, wealthy alumni of the school
who were Mr. Trump’s friends” and who wanted to keep his records secret,
recalled Evan Jones, the headmaster at the time. “He said, ‘You need to
go grab that record and deliver it to me because I need to deliver it to
them.’ ” The superintendent, Jeffrey Coverdale, confirmed Monday that members
of the school’s board of trustees initially wanted him to hand over Trump’s
records to them, but Coverdale said he refused. “I was given directives,
part of which I could follow but part of which I could not, and that was
handing them over to the trustees,” he said. “I moved them elsewhere on
campus where they could not be released. It’s the only time I ever moved
an alumnus’s records.”

Jesus Christ. Give
me a break. LOL.

"The former NYMA officials’
recollections add new details to one of the allegations that Michael Cohen,
the president’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, made before Congress
last week. Cohen, who told the House Oversight and Reform Committee that
part of his job was to attack Trump’s critics and defend his reputation,
said that Trump ordered him “to threaten his high school, his colleges
and the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores.” Trump
has frequently boasted that he was a stellar student, but he declined throughout
the 2016 campaign to release any of his academic records, telling The Washington
Post then, “I’m not letting you look at anything.”

Wonder why???
LOL.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Highly reminiscent
of our outrageously bought and paid for judiciary, Llano County prosecutors,
Sheriff Bill Blackburn and his criminal SS jackbooted bastards in black
who continue to egregiously disgrace themselves and the badge, do as they
please regardless of the law and Constitution, carefully consider the following.
It's appalling. Runs against the grain of everything our formerly
great country once stood for. No longer.

The following is pitiful.
Gross injustice to our best and brightest. -- Courtesy of the Trump
nazi and his henchmen. NBC News reports:

"The American Civil Liberties
Union released records Monday that it says show a police officer racially
profiling a U.S. citizen and Marine veteran who was detained for deportation
and mocking his disability. Jilmar Ramos-Gomez, a former Marine who suffers
from post-traumatic stress disorder, was held for three days in an immigration
facility in Michigan in December for possible deportation until his attorney
intervened, according to the ACLU. He was born in Michigan. The ACLU said
in a statement that the documents it released show Grand Rapids police
Capt. Curt VanderKooi “racially profiling” and mocking Ramos-Gomez in his
interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

“Here is an officer who
sees someone who is Latino, who has a Latino sounding name, and contacts
ICE,” Miriam Aukerman, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, told
NBC News."

'Best' in law enforcement,
right,
Sheriff?

"Ramos-Gomez was arrested
on Nov. 21 after he allegedly set a small fire, pulled an alarm and trespassed
on a heliport at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids,
according to police. A timeline of events provided by the ACLU said that
Ramos-Gomez’s U.S. passport was in his bag at the time he was arrested.
"They took a photograph of his passport when they logged his property into
evidence. They knew he was a U.S. citizen," Auckerman said. Police later
interviewed Ramos-Gomez and realized “he has mental health issues,” according
to the timeline. Midmorning on Nov. 21, a police sergeant sent a text to
an FBI agent saying the case involves a “Vet, PTSD, But not a FBI issue,”
according to the timeline and an image of the message included in the ACLU’s
statement. Later that evening, VanderKooi watched a news report about the
arrest and emailed Derek Klifman, an ICE officer, according to the timeline
and the documents. “Could you please check his status?” the email began."

"A separate ICE officer
emailed VanderKooi on Nov. 23 and said he interviewed Ramos-Gomez and determined
“he is a foreign national illegally in the U.S.,” according to the documents.
The ICE officer said Ramos-Gomez would be brought into custody when he
was released from his criminal case. ICE has said in a statement that Ramos-Gomez
claimed he was in the U.S. illegally during the interview and lodged a
detention request with police based on his statements. Vanderkooi emailed
back on Nov. 26 with the subject line “Spectrum Helicopter Pad Loco,” using
the Spanish word for crazy. “It is not clear what mad intent was involved
in this breach of hospital security but here is the report,” the email
said, according to the documents. Another police officer forwarded that
message to a prosecutor, who responded: “I am confused. Didn’t his property
have a U.S. Passport in it? And he was a veteran?!” “Who knows, not sure
it was a US passport. … I am not sure about the vet thing,” the officer
responded."

Unf--king believable.

"Ramos-Gomez pleaded guilty
to trespassing and was released on his own recognizance on Dec. 14, according
to the ACLU. He was then taken into ICE custody, where he was held until
Dec. 17 when his family’s attorney intervened, according to the ACLU. ICE
said it reviewed documents provided by the lawyer suggesting Ramos-Gomez
was a citizen and authorized his release. Auckerman said VanderKooi's mocking
of the veteran showed "disrespect for our men and women in uniform as well
as for people with disabilities."

Goddamned right.
Our formerly great country has clearly lost itself.

"The Grand Rapids Police
Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement
Friday, police said the officer who contacted ICE “did so solely on the
nature" of Ramos-Gomez's actions."

Clearly, too stupid to
be an officer. ... Right, Sheriff?

"Contacting ICE is not
a routine part of our investigative process. Rather, we did this in light
of the potential risk to the public’s safety, specifically through a possible
act of terrorism," Interim Police Chief David Kiddle said in the statement.
Kiddle added the investigation determined the officer used “unprofessional
language” in his interactions with ICE, which was addressed with the officer."

Jesus Christ. The
goddamned Interim Chief is just as stupid. How does an hopelessly
ignorant asshole like this become Interim Chief? How? How
does that happen?

"Aukerman said the response
shows "police can't police themselves." "What you see is even when you
have blatant discrimination, blatant racial profiling, the officer involved
is not held accountable," she said."

Our formerly great country
is hopelessly lost. ... Right, Sheriff?

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

The following is appalling
if true. A great disservice to the LGBTQ community, people of color,
as well as all Americans. Especially, at a time our formerly great
country is coming apart at the seams. CBS News reports:

"Chicago's top police
officer expressed anger and frustration Thursday over what he called Jussie
Smollett's "shameful" attempt to fabricate a hate crime for a "publicity
stunt." "When we discovered the actual motive, quite frankly, it pissed
everybody off," said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. He said
police were treating Smollett like a victim until then. Smollett's story
that he was attacked January 29 by masked assailants who yelled racial
and homophobic slurs, poured bleach on him and hung a rope around his neck
unraveled when two of Smollett's acquaintances, brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo,
told investigators the actor paid them $3,500 to stage the attack, said
Johnson. Johnson said Smollett, 36, choreographed the attack because he
was dissatisfied with his salary. He castigated Smollett for putting the
national spotlight on Chicago for something "that is both egregious and
untrue," and said bogus police reports harm legitimate victims by wasting
valuable police resources."

Not only that, makes it
far more difficult for the LGBTQ community, people of color, to say nothing
of the rest of the community truly victimized by out of control law enforcement.
Won't
be believed.

"The "Empire" actor turned
himself in on a felony count of filing a false police report. He appeared
in court Thursday afternoon where a judge set his bond at $100,000 and
ordered him to turn in his passport. Smollett soon walked out of jail after
posting the necessary $10,000 and headed to a black SUV as a horde of reporters
swarmed the area. He went to the "Empire" set later in the day, 20th Century
Fox confirmed to CBS News late Thursday. Johnson said Smollett hasn't made
any statement to police since his arrest."

No matter what, this man
is entitled to his day in court, presumption of innocence until convicted.

"His legal team, which
now includes famed criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos, defended him
in a statement after he was charged Wednesday night. "Like any other citizen,
Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there
has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and
false, has been repeatedly leaked," the statement said. "Given these circumstances,
we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive
defense." According to The Associated Press, Smollett's lawyers said Johnson's
detailing investigators' findings about the alleged attack amounted to
an "organized law enforcement spectacle," and said they had no place in
the American legal system. The statement described Smollett as a man of
"impeccable character and integrity" who fiercely and solemnly maintains
his innocence."

Has every right to presumption
of innocence, vigorous legal defense, and his day in court.

"Johnson gave credit to
his detectives for a "patient and deliberate" investigation that he said
began with giving Smollett the benefit of the doubt and eventually uncovered
the truth after weeks of combing through video evidence and following up
on leads. He called Smollett a "troubled young man who resorted to both
drastic and illegal actions." "I'm offended by what's happened, and I'm
also angry," Johnson said. "I love the city of the Chicago and the Chicago
Police Department, warts and all. But this publicity stunt was a scar Chicago
didn't earn and certainly didn't deserve."

Chicago's top cop goes
on and on. Certainly, expresses profound frustration. May turn
out to be a mistake, however. Could be construed and used by the
defense as an attempt to unduly influence the jury pool.

"Johnson said Thursday
he spoke not only as the police superintendent, but as a black man who
grew up in Chicago and understands the city's racial divide. He said Smollett
"took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career"
and said he was baffled as to why anyone, especially an African-American
man, "would use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations." "How
could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol
and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public
profile?" Johnson said. "How could this individual who has been embraced
by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in this city in the
face by making these false claims?"

Think there isn't indeed
a serious
systemic problem in Chicago law enforcement as well as
throughout the country? NPR reports:

"When a fellow officer
dies, Chicago police wear black bands around their badges as a sign of
mourning. At least five Chicago officers have taken their own lives since
July."

Think that isn't a serious
problem? Indicative of massive systemic failure within law enforcement?
This remains of great public concern because we as a society cannot live
without law enforcement. Someone has to haul in the criminal element,
hold them accountable. The problem occurs when law enforcement becomes
the criminal element. Does so on a massive scale. As we are
now experiencing throughout our formerly great country.

The increasing number
of officer suicides is certainly indicative of a growing cancer within
law enforcement. The following is an extremely tragic example of
this:

"In September 2017, Chicago
Police Officer Regine Perpignan was hospitalized for depression, relatives
said. Perpignan was a 26-year veteran of the department. She was 54, with
two daughters and a granddaughter. Her brother and sister-in-law said Perpignan
got counseling through the department and was taken off the street while
she was getting help. Perpignan's sister-in-law Rochelle Perpignan said
Regine went back to policing near the end of 2017. Police spokesman Anthony
Guglielmi would not confirm the timeline. "They put her back on duty too
fast," her brother, Roland Perpignan, said. "Someone who's been having
mental issues and you know is not well should not be going back to duty
... and given a gun." In September 2018, in the parking lot of the Calumet
District police station on the far South Side, before she was scheduled
to begin her workday, Perpignan killed herself, according to the Cook County
Medical Examiner's office. She used her service revolver. "To think how
much she must have been suffering to get to that point," Roland Perpignan
said. "You know you gotta be suffering a lot and be in a lot of pain to
[think that's the only way out]."

That's right. No
question. We have to do something about this. It's unacceptable.

"Perpignan was one of
at least five Chicago police officers to kill themselves since July. What's
more, she was one of three officers to do so while on duty or on police
property, an exceedingly rare occurrence, according to experts. The police
department is unable to provide historic numbers on officer suicides, said
Guglielmi, the police spokesman. But the U.S. Department of Justice found
that between 2013 and 2015, CPD had a suicide rate up to 60 percent higher
than the national average for law enforcement officers. Those numbers are
spurring action by officers, police officials and mental health experts.
They said the suicides are a sign of deeper problems with the mental health
and well-being of Chicago police officers."

Moreover, there is a reason
why police suicides are increasing across the country. Much of it
has to do with what this publication and others have been covering for
decades. Abusive law enforcement. Yet, there is no change.
Certainly, no meaningful change. Precisely, why this problem will
grow worse before things improve.

"If you or someone you
know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and
Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting 741741."

Don't put it off.

"The U.S. Department of
Justice and other experts say addressing those issues is also essential
to the success of mandated police reform in the city and to a better relationship
between police and community members."

It's a question of which
came first. Chicken or the egg. After years of covering this
issue, strongly suspect egregious abuse of authority, unnecessary violence
including needless killing while on and off duty has contributed to the
increase of mental health issues within the police community. The
public reacts to this negatively. Can't, won't trust law enforcement.
For damned good reason.

"Police department leaders
said they're taking big steps to address the issue, but former officers
and some mental health professionals are asking whether the city is doing
enough, and whether it's focused on the right problems."

That's right. Good
place to start? Clean up your act. When you're getting your
cookies off harassing the innocent, killing and/or beating the living shit
out of both the guilty and innocent for no valid reason, otherwise abusing
authority to exert power for the sake of exerting power, guess what?
You've got mental health issues.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

The carnage has begun.
The
Washington Post reports:

"Venezuelan soldiers opened
fire on a group of civilians attempting to keep open a segment of the southern
border with Brazil for deliveries of humanitarian aid, causing multiple
injuries and the first fatalities of a massive opposition operation meant
to deliver international relief to this devastated South American country,
according to eyewitnesses and community leaders. At 6:30 a.m. on
Friday, a military convoy approached a checkpoint set up by an indigenous
community in the southern village of Kumarakapay, on the main artery linking
Venezuela to Brazil. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Thursday
ordered the closure of Venezuela’s border with Brazil. When the volunteers
sought to block the military vehicles by standing in front of them, soldiers
began firing assault rifles. At least two people were killed and a dozen
wounded, at least three of them seriously. The dead were named as a woman,
Zorayda Rodriguez, 42, and a man, Rolando Garcia."

Sadly, the chickens are
finally coming home to roost. While the situation in Venezuela is
extremely complicated, the United States bears responsibility for profound
and growing unrest in Central and South America. Has intervened for
decades.

"The Trump administration,
which opposes Maduro, promptly denounced the shooting. “The United States
condemns the killings, attacks, and the hundreds of arbitrary detentions
that have taken place in Venezuela,” a State Department spokesman said.
“We stand with the victims’ families in demanding justice and accountability.”

People in the Center and
Left in our formerly great country are demanding the same here in Nazi
America, Mr. 'President.' Law enforcement remains out of control.
Conditions in our jails and prisons are unacceptable. To say nothing
of how you and your henchmen are treating those seeking asylum, sir.

"In tweets, opposition
leader Juan Guaidó — who was en route to the Colombian border —
said: “In the community of Kumarakapay, 2 soldiers shot against Pemones
that were at a checkpoint. The result of this crime is 12 people wounded
and one dead. Our solidarity is with them. It will not go unpunished.”
In a separate tweet, he added, “To soldiers: between today and tomorrow
you will define how to be remembered. We know you are with the people,
you have made it clear to us. Tomorrow you can demonstrate it.” At least
30 neighbors took to the streets following the shootings, kidnapping three
soldiers, according to Carmen Elena Silva, 48, who had joined the roadblock,
and George Bello, a spokesman for the indigenous community. “The majority
of the people support the entrance of humanitarian aid, and we want to
keep our border open,” Silva said. “This is help, not war. ... Every day
more children die.” Jorge Perez, a local councilman in Gran Sabana, the
district in which the town is located, said he was present when the soldiers
opened fire. “I ask the armed forces, is it constitutional for them to
fire against unarmed indigenous people?” he said. “Is it constitutional
to kill indigenous people?”

NPR reports:

"When President Trump
spoke in Florida this week, he issued a stern warning about Venezuela:
Members of the armed forces who continue to support President Nicolás
Maduro "will find no safe harbor, no easy exit and no way out," he said.
"You will lose everything." The White House says it wants a peaceful, multilateral
approach to removing Maduro, but all options are on the table — suggesting
the possibility of military involvement. Tensions between Maduro and the
movement to unseat him are expected to come to a head this weekend, as
members of Venezuela's U.S.-backed opposition push to carry into the country
tons of humanitarian aid and medicine that Maduro's security forces have
blocked. U.S. officials have repeatedly threatened Venezuelan forces who
stand in the way and have described the aid as part of a strategy to compel
the military to "disobey orders."

Here's the problem:

"But even for some of
Maduro's enemies, Washington's efforts to oust the Venezuelan leader raise
concern because of the history of U.S. intervention in the region. It is
"a long history that starts in Mexico," says Enrique Krauze, a noted Mexican
historian. The Mexican-American War, the brutal two-year conflict in the
mid-19th century, ended with Mexico losing — or as Krauze says, being robbed
of — half its territory. "It would be hard to name a country where the
United States didn't have an intervention," he emphasizes. The United States
participated, directly or indirectly, in Latin American regime change more
than 40 times in the last century, according to historian John Coatsworth.
That figure doesn't include a number of failed missions like the 1961 Bay
of Pigs assault in Cuba. Some of the more stinging U.S. moves included
its roles in ousting democratically elected governments in Guatemala in
1954, in Brazil a decade later and in Chile in 1973. Chilean President
Salvador Allende was deposed in a violent coup by CIA-backed opponents,
and the U.S. government long supported his replacement, the dictator Gen.
Augusto Pinochet."

Wake up.
Raw imperialism by what is ostensibly supposed to be a democratic republic,
but no longer. In name only.

"In addition to covert
support for insurgencies, the U.S. has invaded its southern neighbors numerous
times. For instance, the U.S. launched invasions of the Dominican Republic
(1916), Grenada (1983) and Panama (1989). The motives were varied and are
often still debated. Writing in Harvard University's ReVista magazine,
Coatsworth says, "two factors seem to have been crucial in tipping decision
makers toward intervention: domestic politics and global strategy." Much
of the interference occurred while America was competing against the Soviet
Union for influence around the world, even as U.S. leaders sought to shore
up political support at home. One bloody chapter that recently re-entered
debate is the U.S. government's roles in Central America's civil wars in
the 1980s, including support for death squads in El Salvador and Contra
guerrillas in Nicaragua. The Trump administration's special envoy for Venezuela,
Elliott Abrams, was convicted of withholding information about the Iran-Contra
scandal from Congress but later received a pardon from President George
H.W. Bush. This month, Congress members grilled Abrams and questioned whether
he would speak truthfully. In 2002, the U.S. government allegedly had prior
knowledge of an abortive coup against Venezuela's then president, Hugo
Chávez, although President George W. Bush's administration denied
any involvement. Abrams was a senior White House official at that time
as well."

A sordid history.
Rife with duplicity.

"The United States is
playing a difficult balancing act. It cannot be seen as leading the charge
in Venezuela, says John Feeley, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Panama
last year, later citing differences with Trump. "Precisely the history
of U.S. intervention in Latin America is such that it always seems to engender
a worse backlash than the original issue that mattered to American interests,"
he says.

"Yet, with speeches like
the one in Miami, Trump was working to "Americanize the crisis," according
to Greg Weeks, a University of North Carolina professor who edits the journal
The Latin Americanist. "The more you Americanize the situation, the worse
the eventual result for the average Venezuelan," he wrote on his blog on
Tuesday. "It badly undermines whatever government comes next and increases
the chances of armed insurrection." With Trump campaigning for re-election,
Weeks assessed from the speech that U.S. domestic politics are a strong
force behind the president's push to oust Maduro."

On Saturday, 2-23-19,
The
Washington Post reports:

"The first truck with
international aid relief has entered Venezuela from the south, via the
Brazilian border, according to Miguel Pizarro, coordinator of the opposition’s
aid operation. Brazil was the site of a clash between opposition supporters
and Venezuelan soldiers on Friday that left two civilians dead.

"Opposition leader Juan
Guaidó and Colombian President Iván Duque spoke to the press
from the Tienditas bridge — one of several bridges connecting Colombia
to Venezuela. Trucks carrying humanitarian aid inched toward one bridge
while protesters on foot tried to form a human chain on another in a bid
to move the aid across. “While we are here trying to bring tons of aid,
some are trying to block us using generalized violence,” Guaidó
said. “To the military, stand on the right side of history.” Thousands
of opposition supporters had amassed at the Tienditas bridge waving Venezuelan
flags and clutching white roses.

"Violent skirmishes were
ongoing in the Venezuelan town of Ureña on the Colombian border,
where civilians were engaging in running battles with tear-gas wielding
border guards. A group of opposition supporters stormed a school and chased
out pro-government supporters who were holed up there overnight. The opposition
shouted “traitors!” at the fleeing loyalists.

"Border guards who turned
against President Nicolás Maduro rammed barricades at the Simón
Bolívar bridge. Afterward, four Venezuelan military men defected.
The opposition planned to use the bridge as one artery for getting U.S.
and other foreign aid from Colombia into Venezuela. Opposition leader Juan
Guaidó was in meetings nearby, on the Colombian side of the border,
where 14 trucks loaded with aid were awaiting orders to try to move across
the border and challenge Maduro’s blockade.

"In Santa Elena de Guairen
on Venezuela’s frontier with Brazil, four people died from bullet wounds
on Saturday after irregular pro-government militias known as colectivos
opened fire. The violence also left 24 injured, according to Foro Penal,
a legal non-profit group that tracks violence in Venezuela. “We’ve been
told colectivos shot at people at the border and the situation is grave,”
said the group’s director, Alfredo Romero, who said the organization had
a team on the ground.

"Maduro declared that
he is breaking diplomatic relations with Colombia, which has called for
his ouster and thrown its support to Guaidó. Maduro ordered Colombian
diplomats to leave Caracas within 24 hours.

"The sound of rapid gunfire
echoed near the Simón Bolívar bridge, where Venezuelan authorities
also shot volleys of tear gas. Medics near the bridge were treating dozens
of people from tear gas inhalation and the stampede that retreated when
canisters were fired. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in other zones near
the western border. Opposition leaders on the Brazilian border also reported
the live fire by security forces."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Another egregious violation
of the First Amendment Establishment Clause by the Trump nazi and his henchmen.
The
Washington Post reports:

"The Trump administration
took aim Friday at Planned Parenthood, issuing a rule barring groups that
provide abortions or abortion referrals from participating in the $286
million federal family planning program — a move that is expected to redirect
millions from the women’s health provider to faith-based groups."

Clear, determined, concerted
violation of the Establishment Clause, that is, freedom from religion.
Who the hell are these goddamned nazis to force their outrageously perverse
ideological and religious views on the rest of us?

"Under the long-expected
change, federally funded family planning clinics can no longer refer a
patient for abortion and must maintain a “clear physical and financial
separation” between services funded by the government and any organization
that provides abortions or abortion referrals. Recipients of grants under
the Title X program, which serves an estimated four million low-income
women, were already prohibited from performing abortions with those funds."

Outrageous. Who
the hell are these Republican national socialists, fascists, nazis to impose
these perverse religious beliefs on the rest of us?

"Health and Human Services
Department officials have said the new requirements, which opponents have
vowed to challenge, were necessary to ensure transparency and the legal
and ethical use of taxpayer funds."

Unadulterated horse shit.
Raw nazism.

"The changes were celebrated
by social conservatives who oppose abortion and helped elect Trump."

These clueless assholes
are not 'conservatives.' They're national socialists, fascists,
nazis.

"The move represents “decisive
action to disentangle taxpayers from the big abortion industry led by Planned
Parenthood,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List,
an antiabortion group, said in a statement."

Horse shit. What
it is remains no more than a group of nazis determined to force their outrageously
perverse ideological and religious views on the rest of us.

"Family Research Council
President Tony Perkins said Planned Parenthood and other abortion centers
now have to choose between shuttering their abortion services and moving
them if they want to continue to receive federal funds. “Either way, this
will loosen the group’s hold on tens of millions of tax dollars,” he said."

You're outrageously perverse
religious views are not shared by a majority of Americans.
Who the hell are you and your fellow nazis to force them on the rest of
us?

"Critics, including 15
governors and the American Medical Association, decried the change as a
“gag rule” that would undermine the physician-patient relationship and
threatened legal action to block it from taking effect. They have also
described it as an indirect way to defund Planned Parenthood, which has
long been a target of antiabortion activists as the nation’s largest provider
of reproductive care services, including abortions."

"New York Attorney General
Letitia James (D) tweeted that the new rule is “dangerous & unnecessary,”
putting millions of Americans at risk, and that the state would take legal
action.

"These new rules are dangerous
& unnecessary.

New York will not stand
by as this administration puts New Yorkers' & millions of Americans
at risk.

We will take legal action.

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG)
February 22, 2019Planned Parenthood President
Leana Wen called the rule “unconscionable and unethical.”

That's right. Sue.

“Imagine if the Trump
administration prevented doctors from talking to our patients with diabetes
about insulin,” she said. “It would never happen. Reproductive health care
should be no different." Wen has said the group could not accept funds
under the rule because it would compromise its ethical obligations to patients.
The women’s health-care provider serves about 41 percent of Title X patients
and receives about $60 million from the program."

Report goes on and on.
These goddamned nazis must be challenged in court. They remain
an exigent threat to life, liberty, all civil and constitutional rights
and liberties. Un-American. Right Wing Fascism.

Fascism, nazism, national socialism defined
as the pernicious blend of government, business, and religion. 'Justified'
by perversion and bastardization of the latter.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Noose figuratively tightens.
Pressure to release pending Mueller report in its entirety will be ferocious.
The
Washington Post reports:

"The Justice Department
and Democratic lawmakers are bracing for a fight over access to the evidence
uncovered by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III during his nearly two-year
investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether
President Trump obstructed justice. Mueller’s investigation is winding
down, according to people familiar with the matter, and Justice Department
officials expect to receive a report from him in March. Democrats on Friday
demanded that the report be made public."

No question. Anything
less would be considered obstruction, no more than a cover-up.

"The agency’s regulations
call for Mueller’s report to be a confidential account of who was charged,
as well as who was investigated but not charged. Then, according to the
regulations, the attorney general — William P. Barr — will summarize the
work for Congress."

Not good enough.
Nowhere near. Barr is no more than a shill for the Trump nazi.
Has no credibility. Past statements by this piece of human excrement
covered in this publication and elsewhere offer proof positive.

"Lawmakers already are
pressing for the Justice Department to turn over any additional underlying
investigative documents produced during Mueller’s investigation."

As well they should.
Moreover, the public is entitled to this information. Forget?
These bastards work for the American people, -- not themselves.

"The task of wresting
those materials away from the Justice Department is likely to fall to the
House, where Democrats are in the majority. On Friday, House Judiciary
Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) joined the chairs of five other
House committees in stressing to Barr, “in the strongest possible terms,
our expectation that the Department of Justice will release to the public
the report Special Counsel Mueller submits to you — without delay and to
the maximum extent permitted by law,” according to a letter lawmakers sent
to the attorney general."

No question. Should
go without saying. Yet, Barr will likely do all he can to protect
his lunatic fuhrer, the Trump nazi. -- If his past remarks
are any indication.

"Democrats said they are
watching for how quickly Barr delivers his summary to Congress after he
receives Mueller’s findings, warning that any delay could be interpreted
as a reason to fear that Barr is covering up certain revelations. Democrats
also plan to instruct the Justice Department to preserve all records related
to Mueller’s probe, telling Barr in their letter that he should be prepared
to furnish information upon request “regarding certain foreign actors and
other individuals who may have been the subject of a criminal or counterintelligence
investigation” plus other investigative materials, “including classified
and law enforcement sensitive information.”

Seems Democrats are doing
what they can to protect the integrity of the investigation, provide proper
oversight of the Trump nazi and Executive Branch.

"The House committee chairs
also asked Barr to detail his reasoning for withholding any sections of
Mueller’s report that the attorney general might choose to omit from the
summary he submits to Congress."

Should Barr not release
the report in its entirety, would likely trigger a constitutional crisis.
Certainly, likely lead to massive public unrest.

"Justice Department officials
have worried that they will have a weak argument for withholding such materials,
given how much information was turned over to Congress after the FBI’s
investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while
she was secretary of state."

Indeed. No question.
Rightfully, so. What's good for the goose is good for the gander,
-- so to speak.

"When that investigation
ended in 2016, then-FBI Director James B. Comey made public the reports
of agents’ interviews with witnesses, gave public briefings to Congress
and supplied additional information to lawmakers in private meetings."

Same should happen here.
The public is entitled. -- While Clinton indeed had her problems,
turned out to be nothing compared to what we've experienced under the lunatic
Trump nazi during the last two years.

"Justice Department officials
who cringed at that level of information-sharing and the disclosure of
sensitive investigative documents did much the same after Trump fired Comey
in May 2017. When Republican lawmakers demanded additional materials about
both the Clinton and Russia probes, the White House squeezed the agency
to comply. At one point, in early 2017, then-Senate Judiciary Committee
Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) refused to allow the nomination of
Rod J. Rosenstein for deputy attorney general to go forward unless Grassley
was provided a detailed briefing from the FBI about the Russia investigation.
Grassley got the briefing."

There is desperate need
for transparency in government. Precisely, why this information needs
to be released whether or not there were or are indictments. No matter
who is and is not indicted.

"The trend continued after
Rosenstein became the Justice Department’s second-in-command. For instance,
when the president declassified a sensitive surveillance warrant, a redacted
version of the document was made public. That was unprecedented, and it
could affect how the notoriously tight-lipped Mueller deals with future
demands for information."

As well it should.
A government that is not transparent is no longer a democratic republic.

“The rules for what the
department turns over to Congress are based almost exclusively on precedent,
and now that Republicans have established these new precedents, they’re
about to find themselves hoisted on their own petard,” said Matthew Miller,
a Justice Department spokesman during the Obama administration. The department,
he said, “just has no good argument why it shouldn’t provide the same transparency
for the Mueller probe that it did for the Clinton investigation.”

Exactly, right.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Transparency.

"Senior Justice Department
officials, however, do not think that the path set by Comey after the Clinton
probe is one they should follow when Mueller completes his work. Barr said
as much in his confirmation hearing. “If you’re not going to indict someone,
you don’t stand up there and unload negative information about the person,”
Barr said during his Senate hearing. “That’s not the way the department
does business.”

Ordinarily, that's true,
-- or should be. These circumstances are diametrically different,
however. Involve the right of the public to know whether or not their
government is engaged in criminal activity, abusing power, deliberately
f--king over the public its sworn to serve.

"That raises a challenge
for the Justice Department, which has long held the view that a sitting
president cannot be indicted."

That view is horse shit.
Assumes a sitting president is above the law. No one is above the
law in a democratic republic. No one.

"Miller said the Justice
Department must turn over to Congress any incriminating information Mueller
found about the president. “The Justice Department has made very clear
that it is not the arbiter of presidential criminality — that is Congress’s
job,” he added. “If that’s true, that means any evidence of presidential
misconduct or potential criminality, they need to turn over to the branch
of government they have said polices that conduct.”

No question. Should
go without saying.

"If Barr were to resist
such requests, lawmakers have a few options in how they respond. They can
subpoena everything, from Mueller’s full report to the FBI’s summaries
of their witness interviews. They can call Mueller to testify about the
substance of his probe and fill in any gaps."

Should certainly do all
the above, -- if the Barr nazi stonewalls on behalf of his fuhrer,
the Trump nazi.

"House Judiciary Committee
Democrats believe no information from Mueller’s probe should be concealed.
But for now, they are shying away from committing to a court fight for
every last document, saying they want first to see whether Barr is planning
to withhold anything."

Should wisely be prepared,
however, to quickly do so if Barr stonewalls. Article goes on, but
the following sums up what is likely the bottom line for Democrats and
Independents:

"What Democrats will be
looking for most closely in Mueller’s report, aides said, is any hint he
uncovered evidence that could have led to an indictment of Trump. In their
letter to Barr on Friday, the House Democratic leaders warned of “the particular
danger” of withholding any evidence of misconduct by Trump. “To maintain
that a sitting president cannot be indicted, and then to withhold evidence
of wrongdoing from Congress because the President will not be charged,
is to convert Department policy into the means for a cover-up. The President,”
they wrote, “is not above the law.”

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Not all Republicans are
on board with the Trump nazi's Emergency Declaration stunt. The following
is an open letter directed to current GOP members of Congress courtesy
of POGO:

"An Open Letter to Republican
Members of CongressAs Republican Members
of Congress, each of us started with one central understanding of our party’s
overarching commitment: to honor our pledge to protect and defend the Constitution
of the United States. After each election, when our constituents granted
us the privilege to again represent them in Congress, we renewed that pledge.
It has always been a Republican fundamental principle that no matter how
strong our policy preferences, no matter how deep our loyalties to presidents
or party leaders, in order to remain a constitutional republic we must
act within the borders of the Constitution. Our oath is to put the country
and its Constitution above everything, including party politics or loyalty
to a president.

We who have signed this
letter are no longer Members of Congress but that oath still burns within
us. That is why we are coming together to urge those of you who are now
charged with upholding the authority of the first branch of government
to resist efforts to surrender those powers to a president.

We offer two arguments
against allowing a president—any president, regardless of party—to circumvent
congressional authority. One is the constitutional placing of all lawmaking
power in the hands of the people’s representatives. Article 1 of the Constitution,
which vests the legislative branch with specific powers, states in section
9: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations
made by Law.” The power of the purse rests with Congress because it is
comprised of 535 representatives of the taxpayer and is the most direct
connection between those being governed and those governing. If you allow
a president to ignore Congress, it will be not your authority but that
of your constituents that is deprived of the protections of true representative
government.

The second argument goes
directly to the question each of you must face: how much are you willing
to undermine both the Constitution and the Congress in order to advance
a policy outcome that by all other legitimate means is not achievable?
The current issue—a wall on our southern border—has gone through the process
put in place by the Constitution. It has been proposed by the President,
it has been debated by Congress, and the representatives of the people
allocated funding at a level deemed appropriate by Congress. We understand
that there are many Members of Congress who disagree with the final funding
compromise reached by a bipartisan group of legislators. To you, we ask
this question: what will you do when a president of another party uses
the precedent you are establishing to impose policies to which you are
unalterably opposed? There is no way around this difficulty: what powers
are ceded to a president whose policies you support may also be used by
presidents whose policies you abhor.

Like us, you have taken
an oath of office. You were elected to Congress to carry out the constitutional
duties and responsibilities of the United States House of Representatives
and the United States Senate. You were sent to Congress to be the voice
of the people. That is an awesome burden and it may require you to exercise
restraint to protect the constitutional model—that which is the root of
American exceptionalism—and to keep it from being sacrificed on the altar
of expediency.

We who have served where
you serve now call on you to honor your oath of office and to protect the
Constitution and the responsibilities it vested in Congress. We ask that
you pass a joint resolution terminating the emergency declared by the President
on February 15, 2019.

Steve BartlettUnited States House of
Representatives (R-TX), 1983-1991

Douglas BereuterUnited States House of
Representatives (R-NE), 1979-2004

Sherwood BoehlertUnited States House of
Representatives (R-NY), 1983-2007

Rodney ChandlerUnited States House of
Representatives (R-WA), 1983-1993

William Clinger Jr.United States House of
Representatives (R-PA), 1979-1997

Tom ColemanUnited States House of
Representatives (R-MO), 1976-1993

John DanforthUnited States Senate
(R-MO), 1977-1995

Mickey EdwardsUnited States House of
Representatives (R-OK), 1977-1993

David F. EmeryUnited States House of
Representatives (R- ME), 1975-1983

Chuck HagelUnited States Senate
(R-NE), 1997-2009

Gordon HumphreyUnited States Senate
(R-NH), 1979-1990

Nancy JohnsonUnited States House of
Representatives (R-CT), 1983-2007

James KolbeUnited States House of
Representatives (R-AZ), 1985-2007

James LeachUnited States House of
Representatives (R-IA), 1977-2007

John LeBoutillierUnited States House of
Representatives (R-NY), 1981-1983

Richard LugarUnited States Senate
(R-IN), 1977-2013

Pete McCloskeyUnited States House of
Representatives (R-CA), 1967-1983

John R. McKernan, Jr.United States House of
Representatives (R-ME), 1983-1987

Thomas PetriUnited States House of
Representatives (R-WI), 1979-2015

Claudine SchneiderUnited States House of
Representatives (R-RI), 1981-1991

John J.H. Schwarz, MDUnited States House of
Representatives (R-MI), 2005-2007

Christopher ShaysUnited States House of
Representatives (R-CT), 1987-2009

Peter SmithUnited States House of
Representatives (R-VT), 1989-1991

Olympia SnoweUnited States Senate
(R-ME), 1995-2013United States House of
Representatives (R-ME), 1979-1995

Alan SteelmanUnited States House of
Representatives (R- TX), 1973-1977"

The above 25 are proof
positive not all Republicans are national socialists, fascists, nazis.
Took great courage for the above 25 to stand tall, buck the insanity currently
going on in the GOP. Hat's off.

NBC News reports:

"Fifty-eight former U.S.
national security officials told the Trump administration in a letter on
Monday that they are aware of "no emergency that remotely justifies" diverting
funds to build a border wall."

Consider the following:

"JOINT DECLARATION OF
FORMER UNITED STATESGOVERNMENT OFFICIALSWe, the undersigned,
declare as follows:1.We are former officials
in the U.S. government who have worked on national security andhomeland security issues
from the White House as well as agencies across the Executive Branch. Wehave served in senior
leadership roles in administrations of both major political parties, andcollectively we have
devoted a great many decades to protecting the security interests of the
UnitedStates. We have held
the highest security clearances, and we have participated in the highest
levels ofpolicy deliberations
on a broad range of issues. These include: immigration, border security,counterterrorism, military
operations, and our nation’s relationship with other countries, includingthose south of our border.a.Madeleine K. Albright
served as Secretary of State from 1997 to 2001. A refugeeand naturalized American
citizen, she served as U.S. Permanent Representative to the UnitedNations from 1993 to
1997. She has also been a member of the Central Intelligence AgencyExternal Advisory Board
since 2009 and of the Defense Policy Board since 2011, in whichcapacities she has received
assessments of threats facing the United States.b.Jeremy B. Bash served
as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Department of Defense from2011 to 2013, and as
Chief of Staff of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2009 to 2011.c.John B. Bellinger III
served as the Legal Adviser to the U.S. Department of Statefrom 2005 to 2009. He
previously served as Senior Associate Counsel to the President andLegal Adviser to the
National Security Council from 2001 to 2005.d.Daniel Benjamin served
as Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism at the U.S.Department of State from
2009 to 2012.e.Antony Blinken served
as Deputy Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017. Hepreviously served as
Deputy National Security Advisor to the President from 2013 to 2015.f.John O. Brennan served
as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2013to 2017. He previously
served as Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Securityand Counterterrorism
and Assistant to the President from 2009 to 2013.g.R. Nicholas Burns served
as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from2005 to 2008. He previously
served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO and as U.S. Ambassadorto Greece. h.William J. Burns served
as Deputy Secretary of State from 2011 to 2014. Hepreviously served as
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from 2008 to 2011, as U.S.Ambassador to Russia
from 2005 to 2008, as Assistant Secretary of State for Near EasternAffairs from 2001 to
2005, and as U.S. Ambassador to Jordan from 1998 to 2001.i.Johnnie Carson served
as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 2009to 2013. He previously
served as the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya from 1999 to 2003, toZimbabwe from 1995 to
1997, and to Uganda from 1991 to 1994.j.James Clapper served
as U.S. Director of National Intelligence from 2010 to 2017.k.David S. Cohen served
as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism andFinancial Intelligence
from 2011 to 2015 and as Deputy Director of the Central IntelligenceAgency from 2015 to 2017.l.Eliot A. Cohen served
as Counselor of the U.S. Department of State from 2007 to2009.m.Ryan Crocker served as
U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012, asU.S. Ambassador to Iraq
from 2007 to 2009, as U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan from 2004 to2007, as U.S. Ambassador
to Syria from 1998 to 2001, as U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait from1994 to 1997, and U.S.
Ambassador to Lebanon from 1990 to 1993.n.Thomas Donilon served
as National Security Advisor to the President from 2010to 2013.o.Jen Easterly served as
Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director forCounterterrorism from
2013 to 2016.p.Nancy Ely-Raphel served
as Senior Adviser to the Secretary of State and Directorof the Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons from 2001 to 2003. Shepreviously served as
the U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia from 1998 to 2001.q.Daniel P. Erikson served
as Special Advisor for Western Hemisphere Affairs to theVice President from 2015
to 2017, and as Senior Advisor for Western Hemisphere Affairs atthe U.S. Department of
State from 2010 to 2015.r.John D. Feeley served
as U.S. Ambassador to Panama from 2015 to 2018. Heserved as Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S.Department of State from
2012 to 2015.s.Daniel F. Feldman served
as Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistanat the U.S. Department
of State from 2014 to 2015.t.Jonathan Finer served
as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017,and Director of the Policy
Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State from 2016 to2017.u.Jendayi Frazer served
as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 2005to 2009. She served as
U.S. Ambassador to South Africa from 2004 to 2005.v.Suzy George served as
Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the NationalSecurity Council from
2014 to 2017.w.Phil Gordon served as
Special Assistant to the President and White HouseCoordinator for the Middle
East, North Africa and the Gulf from 2013 to 2015, andAssistant Secretary of
State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2009 to 2013.x.Chuck Hagel served as
Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2015, and previouslyserved as Co-Chair of
the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. From 1997 to 2009, heserved as U.S. Senator
for Nebraska, and as a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relationsand Intelligence Committees.y.Avril D. Haines served
as Deputy National Security Advisor to the President from2015 to 2017. From 2013
to 2015, she served as Deputy Director of the Central IntelligenceAgency.z.Luke Hartig served as
Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the NationalSecurity Council from
2014 to 2016.aa.Heather A. Higginbottom
served as Deputy Secretary of State for Managementand Resources from 2013
to 2017.bb.Roberta Jacobson served
as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico from 2016 to 2018. Shepreviously served as
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs from 2011to 2016.cc.Gil Kerlikowske served
as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection from2014 to 2017. He previously
served as Director of the Office of National Drug ControlPolicy from 2009 to 2014.dd.John F. Kerry served
as Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017.ee.Prem Kumar served as
Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at theNational Security Council
from 2013 to 2015.ff.John E. McLaughlin served
as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agencyfrom 2000 to 2004 and
as Acting Director in 2004. His duties included briefing Presidentelect
Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.gg.Lisa O. Monaco served
as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security andCounterterrorism and
Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2017. Previously, sheserved as Assistant Attorney
General for National Security from 2011 to 2013.hh.Janet Napolitano served
as Secretary of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013. Sheserved as the Governor
of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.ii.James D. Nealon served
as Assistant Secretary for International Engagement at theU.S. Department of Homeland
Security from 2017 to 2018. He served as U.S. Ambassadorto Honduras from 2014
to 2017.jj.James C. O’Brien served
as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs from2015 to 2017. He served
in the U.S. Department of State from 1989 to 2001, including asPrincipal Deputy Director
of Policy Planning and as Special Presidential Envoy for theBalkans.kk.Matthew G. Olsen served
as Director of the National Counterterrorism Centerfrom 2011 to 2014.ll.Leon E. Panetta served
as Secretary of Defense from 2011 to 2013. From 2009 to2011, he served as Director
of the Central Intelligence Agency.mm. Anne W. Patterson
served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairsfrom 2013 to 2017. Previously,
she served as the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt from 2011 to2013, to Pakistan from
2007 to 2010, to Colombia from 2000 to 2003, and to El Salvadorfrom 1997 to 2000.nn.Thomas R. Pickering served
as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from1997 to 2000. He served
as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1989to 1992.oo.Amy Pope served as Deputy
Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy Assistant tothe President from 2015
to 2017.pp.Samantha J. Power served
as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nationsfrom 2013 to 2017. From
2009 to 2013, she served as Senior Director for Multilateral andHuman Rights at the National
Security Council.qq.Jeffrey Prescott served
as Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice Presidentfrom 2013 to 2015, and
as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Iran,Iraq, Syria and the Gulf
States from 2015 to 2017.rr.Nicholas Rasmussen served
as Director of the National Counterterrorism Centerfrom 2014 to 2017.ss.Alan Charles Raul served
as Vice Chairman of the Privacy and Civil LibertiesOversight Board from
2006 to 2008. He previously served as General Counsel of the U.S.Department of Agriculture
from 1989 to 1993, General Counsel of the Office ofManagement and Budget
in the Executive Office of the President from 1988 to 1989, andAssociate Counsel to
the President from 1986 to 1989.tt.Dan Restrepo served as
Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director forWestern Hemisphere Affairs
at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2012.uu.Susan E. Rice served
as U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from2009 to 2013 and as National
Security Advisor to the President from 2013 to 2017.vv.Anne C. Richard served
as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees,and Migration from 2012
to 2017.ww. Eric P. Schwartz
served as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees,and Migration from 2009
to 2011. From 1993 to 2001, he was responsible for refugee andhumanitarian issues at
the National Security Council, ultimately serving as Special Assistantto the President for
National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Multilateral andHumanitarian Affairs.xx.Andrew J. Shapiro served
as Assistant Secretary of State for Political-MilitaryAffairs from 2009 to
2013.yy.Wendy R. Sherman served
as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs from2011 to 2015.zz.Vikram Singh served as
Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan andPakistan from 2010 to
2011 and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Southeast Asiafrom 2012 to 2014.aaa.Dana Shell Smith served
as U.S. Ambassador to Qatar from 2014 to 2017.Previously, she served
as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs.bbb. Jeffrey H. Smith
served as General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agencyfrom 1995 to 1996. He
previously served as General Counsel of the Senate Armed ServicesCommittee.ccc.Jake Sullivan served
as National Security Advisor to the Vice President from 2013to 2014. He previously
served as Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. Department of Statefrom 2011 to 2013.ddd.Strobe Talbott served
as Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001.eee.Linda Thomas-Greenfield
served as Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of AfricanAffairs from 2013 to
2017. She previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Liberia and DeputyAssistant Secretary for
the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration from 2004 to2006.fff.Arturo A. Valenzuela
served as Assistant Secretary of State for WesternHemisphere Affairs from
2009 to 2011. He previously served as Special Assistant to thePresident and Senior
Director for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Councilfrom 1999 to 2000, and
as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Mexican Affairs from1994 to 1996.

2.On February 15, 2019,
the President declared a “national emergency” for the purpose ofdiverting appropriated
funds from previously designated uses to build a wall along the southernborder. We are aware
of no emergency that remotely justifies such a step. The President’s actions
areat odds with the overwhelming
evidence in the public record, including the administration’s owndata and estimates. We
have lived and worked through national emergencies, and we support thePresident’s power to
mobilize the Executive Branch to respond quickly in genuine nationalemergencies. But under
no plausible assessment of the evidence is there a national emergency todaythat entitles the President
to tap into funds appropriated for other purposes to build a wall at thesouthern border. To our
knowledge, the President’s assertion of a national emergency here isunprecedented, in that
he seeks to address a situation: (1) that has been enduring, rather than
onethat has arisen suddenly;
(2) that in fact has improved over time rather than deteriorated; (3) byreprogramming billions
of dollars in funds in the face of clear congressional intent to the contrary;and (4) with assertions
that are rebutted not just by the public record, but by his agencies’ ownofficial data, documents,
and statements.3.Illegal border crossings
are near forty-year lows. At the outset, there is no evidence of a sudden
oremergency increase in
the number of people seeking to cross the southern border. According to
theadministration’s own
data, the numbers of apprehensions and undetected illegal border crossings
atthe southern border are
near forty-year lows.1 Although there was a modest increase inapprehensions in 2018,
that figure is in keeping with the number of apprehensions only two yearsearlier, and the overall
trend indicates a dramatic decline over the last fifteen years in particular.2
Theadministration also estimates
that “undetected unlawful entries” at the southern border “fell fromapproximately 851,000
to nearly 62,000” between fiscal years 2006 to 2016, the most recent years
forwhich data are available.3
The United States currently hosts what is estimated to be the smallestnumber of undocumented
immigrants since 2004.4 And in fact, in recent years, the majority ofcurrently undocumented
immigrants entered the United States legally, but overstayed their visas,5
aproblem that will not
be addressed by the declaration of an emergency along the southern border.4.There is no documented
terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border. There
is no reasonto believe that there
is a terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border that
couldjustify the President’s
proclamation."

Report goes on and on.
Wake
up. There is no national emergency. The Trump nazi is a
congenital liar. Continues to bamboozle his sick sycophants.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Wisconsin Governor doesn't
buy Trump nazi's bullshit. NPR reports:

"Gov. Tony Evers recalled
Wisconsin's National Guard troops from the southern border, making him
the third state leader to challenge the Trump administration's claims of
a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico line."

Finally, sanity rules.

"There is simply not ample
evidence to support the president's contention of a national security crisis
at our southwestern border," Evers, a Democrat, wrote in a tweet on Monday
afternoon. "Therefore, there is no justification for the ongoing presence
of Wisconsin National Guard personnel at the border," the newly sworn-in
governor added. A statement about the executive order, signed Monday, offers
a bit more detail: 112 Guard Soldiers and Airmen, under the command of
then-Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, were deployed to the Arizona border
on June 21, 2018, to assist with border security. Now, Evers is revoking
that order."

About time.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Cohen's testimony before
the House Committee was indeed explosive. Before getting into the
testimony, the following is his opening statement courtesy of The New
York Times:

"TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL
D. COHEN

COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT
AND REFORM U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Chairman Cummings, Ranking
Member Jordan, and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me
here today.

I have asked this Committee
to ensure that my family be protected from Presidential threats, and that
the Committee be sensitive to the questions pertaining to ongoing investigations.
Thank you for your help and for your understanding.

I am here under oath to
correct the record, to answer the Committee’s questions truthfully, and
to offer the American people what I know about President Trump.

I recognize that some
of you may doubt and attack me on my credibility. It is for this reason
that I have incorporated into this opening statement documents that are
irrefutable, and demonstrate that the information you will hear is accurate
and truthful.

Never in a million years
did I imagine, when I accepted a job in 2007 to work for Donald Trump,
that he would one day run for President, launch a campaign on a platform
of hate and intolerance, and actually win. I regret the day I said “yes”
to Mr. Trump. I regret all the help and support I gave him along the way.

I am ashamed of my own
failings, and I publicly accepted responsibility for them by pleading guilty
in the Southern District of New York.

I am ashamed of my weakness
and misplaced loyalty – of the things I did for Mr. Trump in an effort
to protect and promote him.

I am ashamed that I chose
to take part in concealing Mr. Trump’s illicit acts rather than listening
to my own conscience.

I am ashamed because I
know what Mr. Trump is.

He is a racist.

He is a conman.

He is a cheat.

He was a presidential
candidate who knew that Roger Stone was talking with Julian Assange about
a WikiLeaks drop of Democratic National Committee emails.

I will explain each in
a few moments.

I am providing the Committee
today with several documents. These include:

• A copy of a check Mr.
Trump wrote from his personal bank account – after he became president
- to reimburse me for the hush money payments I made to cover up his affair
with an adult film star and prevent damage to his campaign;

• Copies of financial
statements for 2011 – 2013 that he gave to such institutions as Deutsche
Bank;

• A copy of an article
with Mr. Trump’s handwriting on it that reported on the auction of a portrait
of himself – he arranged for the bidder ahead of time and then reimbursed
the bidder from the account of his non-profit charitable foundation, with
the picture now hanging in one of his country clubs; and

• Copies of letters I
wrote at Mr. Trump’s direction that threatened his high school, colleges,
and the College Board not to release his grades or SAT scores.

I hope my appearance here
today, my guilty plea, and my work with law enforcement agencies are steps
along a path of redemption that will restore faith in me and help this
country understand our president better.

***

Before going further,
I want to apologize to each of you and to Congress as a whole.

The last time I appeared
before Congress, I came to protect Mr. Trump. Today, I’m here to tell the
truth about Mr. Trump.

I lied to Congress about
when Mr. Trump stopped negotiating the Moscow Tower project in Russia.
I stated that we stopped negotiating in January 2016. That was false –
our negotiations continued for months later during the campaign.

Mr. Trump did not directly
tell me to lie to Congress. That’s not how he operates.

In conversations we had
during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia
for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me there’s no business in
Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same
thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie.

There were at least a
half-dozen times between the Iowa Caucus in January 2016 and the end of
June when he would ask me “How’s it going in Russia?” – referring to the
Moscow Tower project.

You need to know that
Mr. Trump’s personal lawyers reviewed and edited my statement to Congress
about the timing of the Moscow Tower negotiations before I gave it.

To be clear: Mr. Trump
knew of and directed the Trump Moscow negotiations throughout the campaign
and lied about it. He lied about it because he never expected to win the
election. He also lied about it because he stood to make hundreds of millions
of dollars on the Moscow real estate project.

And so I lied about it,
too – because Mr. Trump had made clear to me, through his personal statements
to me that we both knew were false and through his lies to the country,
that he wanted me to lie. And he made it 6 clear to me because his personal
attorneys reviewed my statement before I gave it to Congress.

****

Over the past two years,
I have been smeared as “a rat” by the President of the United States. The
truth is much different, and let me take a brief moment to introduce myself.

My name is Michael Dean
Cohen. I am a blessed husband of 24 years and a father to an incredible
daughter and son. When I married my wife, I promised her that I would love
her, cherish her, and protect her. As my father said countless times throughout
my childhood, “you my wife, and you my children, are the air that I breathe.”
To my Laura, my Sami, and my Jake, there is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect
you.

I have always tried to
live a life of loyalty, friendship, generosity, and compassion – qualities
my parents ingrained in my siblings and me since childhood. My father survived
the Holocaust thanks to the compassion and selfless acts of others. He
was helped by many who put themselves in harm’s way to do what they knew
was right.

That is why my first instinct
has always been to help those in need. Mom and Dad…I am sorry that I let
you down.

As many people that know
me best would say, I am the person they would call at 3AM if they needed
help. I proudly remember being the emergency contact for many of my children’s
friends when they were growing up because their parents knew that I would
drop everything and care for them as if they were my own.

Yet, last fall I pled
guilty in federal court to felonies for the benefit of, at the direction
of, and in coordination with Individual #1.

For the record: Individual
#1 is President Donald J. Trump.

It is painful to admit
that I was motivated by ambition at times. It is even more painful to admit
that many times I ignored my conscience and acted loyal to a man when I
should not have. Sitting here today, it seems unbelievable that I was so
mesmerized by Donald Trump that I was willing to do things for him that
I knew were absolutely wrong.

For that reason, I have
come here to apologize to my family, to the government, and to the American
people.

Accordingly, let me now
tell you about Mr. Trump.

I got to know him very
well, working very closely with him for more than 10 years, as his Executive
Vice President and Special Counsel and then personal attorney when he became
President. When I first met Mr. Trump, he was a successful entrepreneur,
a real estate giant, and an icon. Being around Mr. Trump was intoxicating.
When you were in his presence, you felt like you were involved in something
greater than yourself — that you were somehow changing the world.

I wound up touting the
Trump narrative for over a decade. That was my job. Always stay on message.
Always defend. It monopolized my life. At first, I worked mostly on real
estate developments and other business transactions. Shortly thereafter,
Mr. Trump brought me into his personal life and private dealings. Over
time, I saw his true character revealed.

Mr. Trump is an enigma.
He is complicated, as am I. He has both good and bad, as do we all. But
the bad far outweighs the good, and since taking office, he has become
the worst version of himself. He is capable of behaving kindly, but he
is not kind. He is capable of committing acts of generosity, but he is
not generous. He is capable of being loyal, but he is fundamentally disloyal.

Donald Trump is a man
who ran for office to make his brand great, not to make our country great.
He had no desire or intention to lead this nation – only to market himself
and to build his wealth and power. Mr. Trump would often say, this campaign
was going to be the “greatest infomercial in political history.”

He never expected to win
the primary. He never expected to win the general election. The campaign
– for him – was always a marketing opportunity.

I knew early on in my
work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business
interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul
in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider
it significant and dangerous.

I knew early on in my
work for Mr. Trump that he would direct me to lie to further his business
interests. I am ashamed to say, that when it was for a real estate mogul
in the private sector, I considered it trivial. As the President, I consider
it significant and dangerous.

But in the mix, lying
for Mr. Trump was normalized, and no one around him questioned it. In fairness,
no one around him today questions it, either.

A lot of people have asked
me about whether Mr. Trump knew about the release of the hacked Democratic
National Committee emails ahead of time. The answer is yes.

As I earlier stated, Mr.
Trump knew from Roger Stone in advance about the WikiLeaks drop of emails.

In July 2016, days before
the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump’s office when his secretary
announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on
the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off
the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that,
within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would
damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Mr. Trump responded by
stating to the effect of “wouldn’t that be great.”

Mr. Trump is a racist.
The country has seen Mr. Trump court white supremacists and bigots. You
have heard him call poorer countries “shitholes.”

He once asked me if I
could name a country run by a black person that wasn’t a “shithole.” This
was when Barack Obama was President of the United States.

While we were once driving
through a struggling neighborhood in Chicago, he commented that only black
people could live that way.

And, he told me that black
people would never vote for him because they were too stupid.

And yet I continued to
work for him.

Mr. Trump is a cheat.

As previously stated,
I’m giving the Committee today three years of President Trump’s financial
statements, from 2011-2013, which he gave to Deutsche Bank to inquire about
a loan to buy the Buffalo Bills and to Forbes. These are Exhibits 1a, 1b,
and 1c to my testimony.

It was my experience that
Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as
trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated
his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.

I am sharing with you
two newspaper articles, side by side, that are examples of Mr. Trump inflating
and deflating his assets, as I said, to suit his financial interests. These
are Exhibit 2 to my testimony.

As I noted, I’m giving
the Committee today an article he wrote on, and sent me, that reported
on an auction of a portrait of Mr. Trump. This is Exhibit 3A to my testimony.

Mr. Trump directed me
to find a straw bidder to purchase a portrait of him that was being auctioned
at an Art Hamptons Event. The objective was to ensure that his portrait,
which was going to be auctioned last, would go for the highest price of
any portrait that afternoon. The portrait was purchased by the fake bidder
for $60,000. Mr. Trump directed the Trump Foundation, which is supposed
to be a charitable organization, to repay the fake bidder, despite keeping
the art for himself. Please see Exhibit 3B to my testimony.

And it should come as
no surprise that one of my more common responsibilities was that Mr. Trump
directed me to call business owners, many of whom were small businesses,
that were owed money for their services and told them no payment or a reduced
payment would be coming. When I advised Mr. Trump of my success, he actually
reveled in it.

And yet, I continued to
work for him.

Mr. Trump is a conman.

He asked me to pay off
an adult film star with whom he had an affair, and to lie to his wife about
it, which I did. Lying to the First Lady is one of my biggest regrets.
She is a kind, good person. I respect her greatly – and she did not deserve
that.

I am giving the Committee
today a copy of the $130,000 wire transfer from me to Ms. Clifford’s attorney
during the closing days of the presidential campaign that was demanded
by Ms. Clifford to maintain her silence about her affair with Mr. Trump.
This is Exhibit 4 to my testimony.

Mr. Trump directed me
to use my own personal funds from a Home Equity Line of Credit to avoid
any money being traced back to him that could negatively impact his campaign.
I did that, too – without bothering to consider whether that was improper,
much less whether it was the right thing to do or how it would impact me,
my family, or the public.

I am going to jail in
part because of my decision to help Mr. Trump hide that payment from the
American people before they voted a few days later.

As Exhibit 5 to my testimony
shows, I am providing a copy of a $35,000 check that President Trump personally
signed from his personal bank 14 account on August 1, 2017 – when he was
President of the United States – pursuant to the cover-up, which was the
basis of my guilty plea, to reimburse me – the word used by Mr. Trump’s
TV lawyer — for the illegal hush money I paid on his behalf. This $35,000
check was one of 11 check installments that was paid throughout the year
– while he was President.

The President of the United
States thus wrote a personal check for the payment of hush money as part
of a criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws. You can find the
details of that scheme, directed by Mr. Trump, in the pleadings in the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

So picture this scene
– in February 2017, one month into his presidency, I’m visiting President
Trump in the Oval Office for the first time. It’s truly awe-inspiring,
he’s showing me around and pointing to different paintings, and he says
to me something to the effect of…Don’t worry, Michael, your January and
February reimbursement checks are coming. They were FedExed from New York
and it takes a while for that to get through the White House system. As
he promised, I received the first check for the reimbursement of $70,000
not long thereafter.

When I say conman, I’m
talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten
his high school, his colleges, and the College Board to never release his
grades or SAT scores.

As I mentioned, I’m giving
the Committee today copies of a letter I sent at Mr. Trump’s direction
threatening these schools with civil and criminal actions if Mr. Trump’s
grades or SAT scores were ever disclosed without his permission. These
are Exhibit 6.

The irony wasn’t lost
on me at the time that Mr. Trump in 2011 had strongly criticized President
Obama for not releasing his grades. As you can see in Exhibit 7, Mr. Trump
declared “Let him show his records” after calling President Obama “a terrible
student.”

The sad fact is that I
never heard Mr. Trump say anything in private that led me to believe he
loved our nation or wanted to make it better. In fact, he did the opposite.

When telling me in 2008
that he was cutting employees’ salaries in half – including mine – he showed
me what he claimed was a $10 million IRS tax refund, and he said that he
could not believe how stupid the government was for giving “someone like
him” that much money back.

During the campaign, Mr.
Trump said he did not consider Vietnam Veteran, and Prisoner of War, Senator
John McCain to be “a hero” because he likes people who weren’t captured.
At the same time, Mr. Trump tasked me to handle the negative press surrounding
his medical deferment from the Vietnam draft.

Mr. Trump claimed it was
because of a bone spur, but when I asked for medical records, he gave me
none and said there was no surgery. He told me not to answer the specific
questions by reporters but rather offer simply the fact that he received
a medical deferment.

He finished the conversation
with the following comment. “You think I’m stupid, I wasn’t going to Vietnam.”

I find it ironic, President
Trump, that you are in Vietnam right now.

And yet, I continued to
work for him.

Questions have been raised
about whether I know of direct evidence that Mr. Trump or his campaign
colluded with Russia. I do not. I want to be clear. But, I have my suspicions.

Sometime in the summer
of 2017, I read all over the media that there had been a meeting in Trump
Tower in June 2016 involving Don Jr. and others from the campaign with
Russians, including a representative of the Russian government, and an
email setting up the meeting with the subject line, “Dirt on Hillary Clinton.”
Something clicked in my mind. I remember being in the room with Mr. Trump,
probably in early June 2016, when something peculiar happened. Don Jr.
came into the room and walked behind his father’s desk – which in itself
was unusual. People didn’t just walk behind Mr. Trump’s desk to talk to
him. I recalled Don Jr. leaning over to his father and speaking in a low
voice, which I could clearly hear, and saying: “The meeting is all set.”
I remember Mr. Trump saying, “Ok good…let me know.”

What struck me as I looked
back and thought about that exchange between Don Jr. and his father was,
first, that Mr. Trump had frequently told me and others that his son Don
Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone in the world. And also, that Don Jr.
would never set up any meeting of any significance alone – and certainly
not without checking with his father.

I also knew that nothing
went on in Trump world, especially the campaign, without Mr. Trump’s knowledge
and approval. So, I concluded that Don Jr. was referring to that June 2016
Trump Tower meeting about dirt on Hillary with the Russian representative
when he walked behind his dad’s desk that day — and that Mr. Trump knew
that was the meeting Don Jr. was talking about when he said, “That’s good…let
me know.”

Over the past year or
so, I have done some real soul searching. I see now that my ambition and
the intoxication of Trump power had much to do with the bad decisions I
made.

To you, Chairman Cummings,
Ranking Member Jordan, the other members of this Committee, and the other
members of the House and Senate, I am sorry for my lies and for lying to
Congress.

To our nation, I am sorry
for actively working to hide from you the truth about Mr. Trump when you
needed it most.

For those who question
my motives for being here today, I understand. I have lied, but I am not
a liar. I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man. I have fixed things,
but I am no longer your “fixer,” Mr. Trump.

I am going to prison and
have shattered the safety and security that I tried so hard to provide
for my family. My testimony certainly does not diminish the pain I caused
my family and friends – nothing can do that. And I have never asked for,
nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump.

And, by coming today,
I have caused my family to be the target of personal, scurrilous attacks
by the President and his lawyer – trying to intimidate me from appearing
before this panel. Mr. Trump called me a “rat” for choosing to tell the
truth – much like a mobster would do when one of his men decides to cooperate
with the government.

As Exhibit 8 shows, I
have provided the Committee with copies of Tweets that Mr. Trump posted,
attacking me and my family – only someone burying his head in the sand
would not recognize them for what they are: encouragement to someone to
do harm to me and my family.

I never imagined that
he would engage in vicious, false attacks on my family – and unleash his
TV-lawyer to do the same. I hope this committee and all members of Congress
on both sides of the aisle will make it clear: As a nation, we should not
tolerate attempts to intimidate witnesses before congress and attacks on
family are out of bounds and not acceptable.

I wish to especially thank
Speaker Pelosi for her statements in Exhibit 9 to protect this institution
and me, and the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Adam Schiff and Chairman Cummings for likewise defending this institution
and my family against the attacks by Mr. Trump, and also the many Republicans
who have admonished the President as well.

I am not a perfect man.
I have done things I am not proud of, and I will live with the consequences
of my actions for the rest of my life.

But today, I get to decide
the example I set for my children and how I attempt to change how history
will remember me. I may not be able to change the past, but I can do right
by the American people here today.

Thank you for your attention.
I am happy to answer the Committee’s questions."

The above is devastating
for the president. Devastating for Cohen himself who certainly appeared
to take full responsibility for his participation in Trump's alleged criminal
activity. Will likely set off a firestorm. So will all subsequent
testimony. The following happens to be analysis of a few of the high
points of that testimony. Much more to come as the full impact of
all this develops, becomes clear.

The Washington Post
reports:

"10:23 a.m.: Cummings
warns Cohen: Lie and I will refer you to DOJ

In fiery opening remarks,
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee,
warned Cohen not to lie to committee members, or Cummings would refer him
to federal law enforcement.

“I have made it abundantly
clear to Mr. Cohen that if he comes here today and he does not tell us
the truth, I will be the first one to refer those untruthful statements
to DOJ,” Cummings said, using an abbreviation for the Justice Department.

He added later: “He does
have a lot to lose if he lies.”

The warning is notable
because Cohen already has been convicted of lying to Congress, and even
Democrats concede there are questions about his credibility. But Cohen
came to the hearing Wednesday armed with evidence to support some of his
testimony, and Cummings said the testimony he will present is “deeply disturbing
and it should be troubling to all Americans.”

“We will all have to make
our own evaluation of the evidence, and Mr. Cohen’s own credibility,” Cummings
said.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio),
the ranking Republican on the House Oversight Committee, has opened with
a fiery start. He called Cohen a “fraudster, a liar and, in two months,
a federal inmate” and suggested history will look unkindly on Democrats’
decision to hold their first oversight public hearing after taking over
control of Congress in January with Cohen.

Jordan asserted that the
hearing may be the first time in history that a person convicted of lying
to Congress, as Cohen was in November, has appeared before Congress again
so quickly to once again offer testimony.

And he alleged that the
hearing--its timing, its topics, its audience--had all been orchestrated
by Lanny Davis, a longtime friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton and now a
lawyer for Cohen. Jordan told Cohen that he was acting as Democrats’ “patsy”
at the hearing.

“They’ve got to find somebody
somewhere to say some thing to remove the president from office,” he said,
before adding wryly, “Actually, they didn’t find him. Lanny Davis did.”

Davis is seated directly
behind Cohen, just over his right shoulder.

10:40 a.m.: Cohen releases
threatening letter to Fordham University

Among the documents Cohen
has provided to the committee is a letter to the president of Fordham University
in New York, where Trump studied for two years before transferring to the
University of Pennsylvania. In the letter, dated May 5, 2015 — about a
month before Trump declared his candidacy for president — Cohen noted that
media outlets had been asking for the release of Trump’s college records.
Cohen wrote to the university president that federal law requires the permission
of a former student before the release of college records--and made clear
that Trump’s permission would not be forthcoming.

Releasing the records,
Cohen wrote, would open the school “to both criminal and civil liability
and damages including, among other things, substantial fines, penalties
and even the potential loss of government aid and other funding.”

“The criminality will
lead to jail time,” Cohen went on to threaten, adding, “We will hold your
institution liable to the fullest extent of the law including damages and
criminality.”

He concluded by asking
that the university contact him to confirm that Trump’s records had been
“permanently sealed.”

In his opening remarks,
Cohen told the committee that he was instructed to write the letter to
Fordham and Trump’s other educational institutions by Trump. And he will
note the irony: Trump was secretly instructing Cohen to bully and threaten
people to ensure Trump’s records, after engaging in a years-long campaign
to press President Barack Obama to release documents about his background,
including college transcripts.

10:45 a.m.: Trump exaggerated
his financial position, according to Cohen documents and testimony

From 2011 to 2013, Trump
exaggerated his financial position and the value of the properties he owned
in order to obtain financing from lenders including Deutsche Bank, according
to testimony and documents submitted to Congress by Cohen.

The “statements of financial
condition” for Trump that Cohen submitted to Congress depict Trump as having
between $170 million and $346 million in cash and marketable securities
on hand. Trump attempted to use the documents to try to obtain a Deutsche
loan to purchase the Buffalo Bills, Cohen said in his testimony, and to
improve his ranking among lists of wealthy Americans.

“It was my experience
that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such
as trying to be listed among the wealthiest people in Forbes, and deflated
his assets to reduce his real estate taxes,” Cohen said.

10:50 a.m.: Did Trump
Jr. tell his father about the famous Trump Tower meeting?

Trump and his son, Trump
Jr., have repeatedly said that the latter never told his father that he
accepted a meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016, after he was informed
that she would bring dirt about Clinton.

Cohen’s testimony provides
tantalizing hints of the possibility both have been lying—but nothing exactly
definitive.

Cohen recounted a conversation
he alleges he observed “probably in early June 2016.” He said that he was
in Trump’s office when Trump Jr. came in and walked behind his father’s
desk. Cohen said this was notable because people rarely walked behind Trump’s
desk. He testified that he heard Trump Jr. lean down and whisper to his
father, “The meeting is all set.” He alleged that Trump responded, “Okay
good…let me know.”

Cohen testified that when
news of the meeting broke in 2017, he remembered the incident and decided
it was likely a reference to the Trump Tower meeting. Bitingly, he added
that he believed this was likely the case because “Mr. Trump had frequently
told me and others that his son Don Jr. had the worst judgment of anyone
in the world. And also, that Don Jr. would never set up any meeting of
any significance alone and certainly not without checking with his father.”

Cohen’s testimony finally
provides a direct account from Trump’s former lawyer of what he claims
he knows—and doesn’t know—about Trump’s knowledge of the meeting. This
became a major issue this summer, when CNN reported that Cohen had told
investigators that he had evidence Trump Jr. informed his father of the
meeting.

Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny
Davis, was later identified as the source of that information. But Davis
was forced to later revise his claims and said he’d gotten things wrong
about what Cohen knew. “It’s a major mistake for which I am 100 percent
sorry. Period. I never should have done it unless I was certain and could
prove it,” he told NBC News."

Ramifications of all this
will certainly take time to fully develop. Will likely spawn further
congressional investigation at the very least.

Coup de grace? Cohen's
closing statement. NBC News reports:

"I'd like to say directly
to the president: We honor our veterans — even in the rain. We tell the
truth even when it doesn't aggrandize you. You respect the law and our
incredible law enforcement agents. You don't villainize them.

"You don't disparage generals,
Gold Star families, prisoners of war and other heroes who had the courage
to fight for this country. You don't attack the media and those who question
what you don't like or what you don't want them to say and you take responsibility
for your own dirty deeds.

"You don't use your power
of your bully pulpit to destroy the credibility of those who speak out
against you. You don’t separate families from one another or demonize those
looking to America for a better life. You don't vilify people based on
the god they pray to and you don’t cuddle up to our adversaries at the
expense of our allies. And finally you don’t shut down the government before
Christmas and New Year's just to simply appease your base.

"This behavior is churlish,
it denigrates the office of the president and it's un-American and it's
not you."

More to come.

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Think the following may
indeed be positive indication of some desperately needed change vis a vis
racism in Alabama? NPR reports:

"The publisher of a small
local newspaper in Alabama penned an editorial calling for the Ku Klux
Klan to "ride again." After massive outcry, he's stepped down, and a black
woman has taken the job."

Imagine that. Couldn't
be, could it? About time.

"The new publisher and
editor of The Democrat-Reporter, Elecia R. Dexter, took the reins on Thursday,
after Goodloe Sutton doubled down on his incendiary comments. "If we could
get the Klan to go up there and clean out D.C., we'd all been better off,"
Sutton told the Montgomery Advertiser. "We'll get the hemp ropes out, loop
them over a tall limb and hang all of them." The original editorial, published
without an author named, claimed that Democrats and Republicans were "plotting
to raise taxes in Alabama." It stated: "Seems like the Klan would be welcome
to raid the gated communities up there." Sutton confirmed to the Advertiser
that he wrote the piece.

"In a statement, the newspaper
said it "has provided the community of West Alabama with quality news for
over 140 years and you may have full confidence that Ms. Dexter will continue
in this tradition as well as moving the paper into a new direction." It
noted that Dexter's family "has strong roots and a rich history in Marengo
County." "Everything has been a little surreal, and there's a lot going
on," Dexter said in an interview with The Washington Post. "I'm grateful
for this opportunity." She told the Post that she had been working at the
paper for about six weeks as a front office clerk when the editorial was
published. She said she felt disappointed and talked to Sutton about it.
"[He] took a group that has a lot of negativity associated to it, especially
for people like me, of color," Dexter said, according to the Post. "There
are different ways to communicate you wanted Washington to be cleaned up
without using that particular reference."

This lady is certainly
more than qualified to take up the reins:

"According to the Democrat-Reporter,
Dexter holds a bachelor's degree in speech communication from Eastern Illinois
University and two masters degrees: one in human services from Spertus
Institute of Jewish Studies and another in Counseling from Argosy University.
"Over the past 10 years, she has been a strategic leader with expertise
in human resources, operations and change management," the paper said.
Dexter told NPR in an email that Sutton remains the owner of the paper.
Alabama lawmakers celebrated the change in editorial leadership. "His dangerous
views do not represent Alabama or the small-town papers in Alabama that
do great work every day," Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat, said in a tweet.
"The good people of Linden deserve so much better than these racist rants
and I am confident they will get it with new editor, Elecia Dexter." Rep.
Terri Sewell, D-Ala., called Sutton's stepping down "the right thing to
do." She called for Sutton to apologize."

Cowardly fail to financially
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truly deserve.

3-1-19

One must truly wonder
whether the vetting process for medical personnel is indeed sufficient.
Consider the following. CBS News reports:

"A former Ohio doctor
is under investigation for allegedly prescribing "significantly excessive
and potentially fatal" doses of a highly potent drug, fentanyl, to dozens
of patients who later died. Dr. William Husel was fired in December, and
Mount Carmel Hospital reported at least 27 of the patients were near death
and receiving intensive care. Twenty-three caregivers, including 14 nurses,
six pharmacists, and three managers were placed on leave."

"Attorney Gerald Leeseberg
represents nine families whose loved ones died, including the five in our
interview. "It happened for years and years, and it happened with multiple
people who had to have been getting red flags or warnings that the orders
that Dr. Husel was making were inappropriate." Leeseberg said. "How does
this go on for three years, and nobody notices?" Werner asked. "Well, that's
the $64,000 question," Leeseberg said. "We have so many questions, we don't
know why he did it," Bellisari said. "You go to the hospital to get well,
hopefully walk out, not die." "That man shouldn't be allowed to be in medicine
at all," Young said. "He needs to be prosecuted for real, 'cause look what
he did to these people." Husel's attorney, as we said, denies there was
any intent on the doctor's part to kill anyone. But the Franklin County
prosecutor's office said they are investigating. The hospital said in a
statement that the way this was finally brought to their attention was
that an employee spoke up. But officials have not explained why they did
not take action sooner."

The above only scratches
the surface of the article.

Cowardly fail to financially
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truly deserve.

3-1-19

The following is highly
indicative of the Aryan arrogance of a Democratic incumbent who has been
in office way too long. Indeed, poster woman for term limits.
CBS News reports:

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein
had a heated exchange with a group of middle and high school students who
asked her to sign the Green New Deal in a clip that went viral Friday.
Activists from the Sunrise Movement, a youth climate-change advocacy group,
posted video on social media of the confrontation, where Feinstein said,
"I've been doing this for 30 years, I know what I'm doing."

Think so?
This is not about veracity of the Green New Deal or lack thereof.
It's about the Senator's inability to handle dissent.

"You come in here and
say 'it has to be my way or the highway' and I don't respond to that,"
Feinstein told about 15 students at her San Francisco office. "I've gotten
elected, I just ran, I was elected by almost a million-vote plurality,
and I know what I'm doing."

Do you, Senator?
That sure of yourself, madam? Can't even properly handle a group
of kids who challenge your views. Allowed them to get under your
skin. Temperament? What's that? Been in office way too
long. Do the right thing. Give someone else a chance.

"Feinstein told the students
she is opposed to the Green New Deal for several reasons, including "we
can't pay for it" and she doesn't agree with what it says. The Green New
Deal, championed by Democrats Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Alexandria Ocasico-Cortez,
aims to convert the entire U.S. economy to renewable energy within 12 years,
while also sparking a massive burst of job-creation and technological innovation."

Veracity or lack thereof
of this program is beside the point. You lost your cool when a group
of young people challenged your views.

"When the students told
her "some scientists say we have 12 years to turn this around," Feinstein
answered "Well it's not going to get turned around in 10 years." This is
how @SenFeinstein reacted to children asking her to support the #GreenNewDeal
resolution -- with smugness + disrespect.

"This is a fight for our
generation's survival. Her reaction is why young people desperately want
new leadership in Congress. pic.twitter.com/0zAkaxruMI

— Sunrise Movement (@sunrisemvmt)
February 22, 2019"

These kids are entitled
to their views. Right or wrong, they are the future. Their
elders have miserably failed. What part of all this don't you understand,
Senator? You sound more like a Republican national socialist, fascist,
nazi, -- than a Democrat. Where did you lose yourself, Senator?
Sound too old and tired for the job.

"An edited clip was posted
on Twitter but a much longer exchange was posted on Facebook. In the full
version, Feinstein explained why she believes her own climate-change legislation
is better than the Green New Deal. At the end, she offers one of the students
an internship. When the students told her she has to listen to them because
they voted for them, Feinstein challenged one student on her age until
she admitted she was 16. "Well you didn't vote for me," Feinstein answered.
About 100 people had rallied outside Feinstein's office Friday, including
students from Oakland Unified School District, where classes are canceled
due to a teacher strike this week. In a statement hours after the clip
went viral, Feinstein said she welcomed the "spirited discussion."

Doesn't appear to be the
case, Senator. -- While the kid who disingenuously insinuated she
was a voter had an excuse, her lack of experience, what the hell
is yours?

"Unfortunately, it was
a brief meeting but I want the children to know they were heard loud and
clear. I have been and remain committed to doing everything I can to enact
real, meaningful climate change legislation," Feinstein said."

"Feinstein's liberal challenger
in the 2018 election, Kevin de Len, did not mention Feinstein directly
after the video spread across the Internet, but tweeted "Climate change
is real, and we won't survive what's coming unless EVERYONE is part of
the conversation."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Finally, some true bi-partisan
agreement. ... At least, at the state level. LOL. The
Washington Post reports:

"Since the start of a
months-long investigation into evidence of election fraud in North Carolina’s
9th Congressional District, Republicans and Democrats have been as divided
as they are across the country — disputing facts, accusing each other of
political games, unable to agree. Then something unexpected happened in
Raleigh this week. The State Board of Elections — three Democrats and two
Republicans — voted unanimously to call for a new election. It might have
been the first recorded instance of a federal election being thrown out
over fraud."

Imagine that. LOL.
Gets better:

"But it wasn’t the evidence
of fraud that made it happen. It was a heart-wrenching drama between an
evangelical minister, who badly wanted to serve in Congress, and his lawyer
son, who came forward with evidence that contradicted his father’s testimony.
Republicans and Democrats agreed that something went right compared with
how partisan conflict often plays out in the country’s hyper-polarized
political environment. But it almost didn’t, despite voluminous evidence
that a political operative had led an illegal scheme to tamper with absentee
ballots on behalf of Republican Mark Harris of Charlotte. And that worries
those who see a massive threat to the integrity of elections in what happened
in the 9th District — and believe it could easily happen again if nothing
is done to prevent it. “Without focused commitment by prosecutors and advocates,
the stakes will remain unacceptably high,” said Josh Lawson, the state
board’s general counsel. “Our unanimous vote only begins to set things
right.”

"Scrutiny of the fraud
allegations is not over. On Saturday, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin
Freeman told The Post that she plans to begin presenting evidence regarding
the 2016 and 2018 elections to a grand jury within 30 days. There may have
been no better illustration of Harris’s plight than his abrupt departure
from the hearing. After announcing his belief that a new election was in
order, he stepped off the dais and walked out of the room with his wife
Beth. His lawyers, still in the midst of the proceeding, stayed behind
— leaving the Harrises to fend off a phalanx of television cameras alone.
His shoulders stooped and his head down, Harris, in footage captured by
WBTV, walked about a half-block to a waiting car, climbed in and
drove away."

What webs we weave.

NPR reports:

"The Republican candidate
at the center of a months-long investigation into election fraud in a North
Carolina congressional race now won't be a candidate for the upcoming new
election that was ordered last week. In a statement, Republican Mark
Harris cited health concerns and upcoming surgery as one reason he won't
run again in the yet-to-be-scheduled race. After last November's election,
Harris appeared to have a 905-vote lead over McCready. But then the state
declined to certify the race after allegations surfaced that an operative
Harris had employed, McCrae Dowless, was illegally collecting absentee
ballots. Voters came forward to say that Dowless or people working for
him had picked up their absentee ballots, which is illegal in North Carolina,
and that they worked to avoid the State Board of Elections from finding
out. Harris had maintained since Election Day that he didn't know about
any wrongdoing. But after emotional testimony from one of his sons during
a four-day hearing of the State Board of Elections last week cast doubt
on his denials, the former Baptist pastor finally acknowledged a new election
was necessary. The board subsequently voted unanimously to hold redo the
race — the only congressional contest still undecided from the 2018 midterm
elections when Democrats already flipped 40 House seats. Harris's decision
to step aside will likely help Republicans in the election re-do — they
won't have to defend a scandal-plagued candidate. But Democrat Dan McCready
has already raised over $500,000 for a new election that is sure to draw
outsized national interest and money.

"Mark Harris may have
seen the writing on the wall but that won't save the eventual Republican
nominee from being tainted by the Republican Party's efforts to steal an
election," North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin said
in a statement. "The entire country watched investigators lay out piece
by piece how North Carolina Republicans committed an elaborate election
fraud scheme, and that investigation will follow whichever Republican runs
for this seat."

The Washington Post
reports:

"Harris, an evangelical
minister from Charlotte, had led by 905 votes in unofficial returns. His
decision not to run follows four days of hearings last week revealing voluminous
evidence that a political operative had led an illegal scheme to tamper
with absentee ballots on behalf of Harris’s congressional campaign last
year. Evidence also surfaced that Harris had structured his campaign so
that he wasn’t paying the operative, Leslie McCrae Dowless, directly and
to avoid public disclosure of those payments. Through most of the hearing,
Harris claimed no knowledge of Dowless’s methods and said there had been
no red flags. That changed last Thursday, after Harris falsely characterized
a conversation with his son, Matthew, about whether emails in which he
suggested that Dowless’s tactics were questionable and was warned by another
son, John, not to hire him, would become public. Facing potential perjury
charges for that testimony -- and days of potentially damaging cross-examination
about his own role in the ballot scheme — Harris abruptly called for a
new election and declared that ballot fraud had sufficiently tainted the
outcome in November to warrant a new election."

Clergy don't lie, cheat,
or steal, do they?

NPR reports:

"North Carolina prosecutors
have announced that Leslie McCrae Dowless, the political operative accused
of illegally collecting absentee ballots in that state's 9th Congressional
District, has been indicted on charges of obstruction of justice and possessing
absentee ballots."

Cowardly fail to financially
and/or materially support those fighting for all civil and constitutional
rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.

3-1-19

Once again, the Roman
Catholic Church has miserably failed to police its own. NPR reports:

"Wrapping up an unprecedented
Vatican summit, Pope Francis denounced the abuse of minors and called for
an end to the Catholic Church's long history of covering up the scandal.
In a Mass on Sunday, he made an appeal for an "all-out battle" on clergy
sex abuse but offered few specifications, reflecting broader criticisms
that the four-day meeting had not produced concrete actions to hold church
leaders accountable."

That's right. More
of the same old tired bullshit, failure to hold perpetrators accountable,
to say nothing of the hierarchy. The hypocritical bastards continue
to protect and coddle their own.

"Francis told church leaders
that most sexual abuse of minors occurs in the family and talked about
abuse in relation to online pornography and sex tourism across the world.
But he added that the universality of abuse "does not diminish" the harm
done within the church, and he called those who had abused children "instruments
of Satan" and "ravenous wolves." The presence of abuse within the church,
Francis said, is more scandalous because of its incompatibility with the
Church's "moral authority and ethical credibility." "Indeed, in the people's
justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed
and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons," the pope said."

Then why isn't he defrocking
and excommunicating all offenders? Readers should understand the
Pope is a Jesuit. The Jesuits are the intellectuals of the Church.
The Pope's comments certainly are no reflection of this. Far from
it. The Pope continues to protect and coddle the bastards responsible,
including the hierarchy.

"Critics called the speech
lukewarm, saying that it brought no new intensity or specificity to the
issue. Becky Ianni, who was sexually violated by her family priest as a
child, says the pope just reiterated points he had previously put forward
before. "He talked about prayer and penance," Ianni, a board member of
Survivors' Network of Those Abused by Priests, told NPR. "While those are
nice sentiments, none of those things are going to protect children right
now. And that's my number one concern as a victim of clergy abuse."

What is called for here
is immediate defrocking and excommunication of priests who sexually abuse.
Reporting abuse to law enforcement authorities promptly.

"She says SNAP has asked
the pope to take specific actions, including firing bishops or cardinals
who cover up abuse and turning over church records to secular authorities."

The Church has failed
to do this. In fact, has destroyed records in an effort to protect
itself and offenders in its ranks.

"Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director
of BishopAccountability.org, told The New York Times that the pope's Mass
was a "catastrophic misreading" of the grief and anger within the Church.
"As the world's Catholics cry out for concrete change, the pope instead
provides tepid promises, all of which we've heard before," she said."

No more than unadulterated
bullshit. More of the same old, same old. No real change.

"Francis had invited 190
Catholic bishops and religious superiors for a summit to discuss how the
institution would address the clergy sex abuse crisis. It was the first
time the pontiff had gathered church leaders from around the world for
such a purpose, raising hopes that it might mark a turning point in the
institution's slow track record of responding to the issue. But the Vatican
dampened expectations early on, calling the summit a "meeting characterized
by prayer and discernment."

The Church has forfeited
all semblance of moral authority quite some time.

"On Sunday, the Vatican
announced that it would publish an edict from the pope and rule book on
the protection of minors, in addition to forming a task force. Rev. Federico
Lombardi, the moderator of the summit, said Vatican leaders would meet
Monday to reflect on propositions and needs brought up at the gathering."

Not good enough.
Nowhere near. Offenders continue to be protected and coddled.
Not exposed for whom and what they are. Where is desperately needed
cooperation between the Church and law enforcement to properly and fully
adjudicate offenders? Since crimes have indeed been committed, this
is without question a law enforcement matter.

"Rev. James Martin, a
Jesuit priest and editor-at-large of America Magazine, said the summit
was a necessary step for the Catholic Church. "The concrete actions will
come later in what's called a 'motu proprio,' which is a document that
they said the pope is going to issue later on," he told NPR. "That will
spell out, from what I understand, more rules and regulations. I think
this was more of a reflection on what happened, and a kind of encouragement
for a change of culture."

Jesus Christ. No
more than unadulterated bullshit. The turds in the hierarchy fail
to understand the extent and severity of the criminal problem within the
Church.

"In one concrete step,
Francis said he wanted to change church law on child pornography, so that
the act would be considered a "grave delict" if it involved children under
the age of 18, not just those under 14. That means all cases involving
minors would be handled by the Vatican office that processes sex abuse
cases.Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, a top Vatican sex crimes investigator,
said the pope had expressed the need for a "change of heart." "This is
obviously theological language, but it is a very important language for
us," Scicluna told NPR's Weekend Edition. "The pope actually put the abuse
of kids and the cover-up of that abuse on the same level of gravity."

Called bullshit.
Proof positive the jackasses within the hierarchy fail to understand the
cancer within the Church.

The above was written
prior to disclosure of the following:

CBS News reports:

"Cardinal George Pell,
the most senior Catholic cleric ever charged with child sex abuse, has
been convicted in Australia of molesting two choirboys moments after celebrating
Mass, dealing a new blow to the Catholic heirarchy's credibility after
a year of global revelations of abuse and cover-up. Pell was Pope Francis'
top financial adviser until late last year and technically remains the
Vatican's economy minister. Pell faces a potential maximum 50-year prison
term after a sentencing hearing that begins Wednesday. He lodged an appeal
last week against the convictions. CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reported
that the Vatican was standing by Australia's efforts to hold Pell to account
through its justice system. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti confirmed
on Tuesday that Pope Francis had subjected Pell to "precautionary measures"
when he first returned to Australia to face trial last year, including
forbidding him from any "public exercise of the ministry" or any contact
"in any way" with minors. Those measures would remain in place until Pell's
appeal process was complete, Gisotti said. The victim who testified at
Pell's trial said after the conviction was revealed that he has experienced
"shame, loneliness, depression and struggle." In his statement, the man
said it had taken him years to understand the impact the assault had on
his life. Lawyer Lisa Flynn said the father of the second victim, who died
of a heroin overdose in 2014 at the age of 31, is planning to sue the Church
or Pell individually once the appeal is resolved.

"The senior cleric bowed
his head but then regained his composure as the 12-member jury delivered
unanimous verdicts in the Victoria state County Court on Dec. 11 after
more than two days of deliberation. The court had until Tuesday forbidden
publication of any details about the trial because Pell had faced a second
trial in April on separate charges that he assaulted two other boys as
a young priest in the late 1970s in his hometown of Ballarat. Prosecutor
Fran Dalziel told the court on Tuesday that the Ballarat charges had been
dropped and asked for the suppression order to be lifted. The lifting of
the suppression order on Pell's case was welcomed by SNAP, a U.S. support
group for victim of clergy abuse. "We hope that his conviction will not
only bring healing to his victims in Australia but hope to survivors across
the world who are yearning for accountability at the top levels of the
church," SNAP said in a statement. "We believe today's conviction will
make Australian children safer and parents and parishioners better informed
about how to prevent sexual abuse."

Cowardly fail to financially
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rights and liberties at great personal cost and risk? Get what you
truly deserve.